2008-08-11_PERMIT FILE - C1992080 (3)

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sweetclover), Agropyron dasystachyum (thickspike wheatgrass), and Agropyron crista- tum (crested wheatgrass). 3.1.1 Vegetation Cover Total vegetation cover of flowering plants on the reclaimed areas this year was 63.60 percent. Graminoids provided 48.00 percent mean cover (75.97% relative cover), and fortis contributed 15.60 percent mean cover (24.03% relative cover). A summary of the 2008 cover sampling data is presented in Table 3. Agropyron intermedium, a perennial cool season grass, was the dominant flowering plant species and had the highest mean cover (19.07%) as well as the highest relative cover, 30.63 percent. Six additional species provided significant cover (>3% relative cover). Bromus marginatus, an introduced cool-season rhizomatous pasture grass provided 10.53 percent mean cover and 15.40 percent relative cover, Agropyron smithii, a native range grass accounted for 9.20 percent mean cover (13.87% relative cover), the perennial introduced leguminous forb Onobrychis viciaefolia contributed 7.73 percent mean cover and 12.69 percent relative cover, the biennial leguminous Melilotus officinalis accounted for 5.33 percent mean cover and 8.12 percent relative cover, the cool season native grass Agropyron dasystachyum accounted for 3.73 percent mean cover (7.11 % relative cover), and the cool-season introduced pasture grass Agropyron cristatum supplied 4.13 percent mean and 6.77 percent relative cover. Vegetative litter (prior year's growth, mulch, and other biologic organic material) comprised 29.20 percent ground cover within the reclaimed areas. Bare soil accounted for 6.93 percent ground cover. Rock was rarely encountered during sampling, providing only 0.27 percent of the ground cover. 3.1.2 Species Composition The total number of flowering plant species encountered during cover sampling within the reclaimed areas was twelve (12). Graminoids accounted for seven species and fortis five species. Of the species encountered on the reclaimed areas, five were native and seven were introduced. Perennial species outnumbered biennial species by ten to two. There were no annual species encountered in the cover sampling. Reclaimed area species were all cool season. Species seeded in the mix accounted for seven of the twelve species. Of the species encountered in cover sampling in the reclaimed areas, seven contributed more than three percent relative cover. Oakridge Energy Carbon Junction Mine Page 5 2008 Vegetation Sampling Report