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• growth of aspen was highly dependent on use of the landscape fabric, with the presence <br />of the fabric significantly increasing growth and survival. The increases seemed to be <br />related to increased soil moisture and resultant decreased leaf water stress and increased <br />photosynthesis. The increased soil moisture may have been related to less water <br />evaporation from the soil having a landscape fabric cover or from less transpiration from <br />these plots because of less vegetative cover. <br />We have shown that control of competing vegetation is important in survival and <br />growth of aspen. The landscape fabric was particularly important in the sites with the <br />most competing vegetation. The first year results of this experiment confirm the <br />hypothesis that landscape fabric will increase growth and survival of aspen, particularly <br />where amounts of competing vegetation are high. The ability of the plants to successfully <br />re-establish will require lateral root growth necessary for sprouting. This could not be <br />determined after one year of growth. The irrigation and landscape fabric treatments had <br />no significant effect on serviceberry, likely a result of the small initial size of the <br />serviceberry plants. We expect a response of serviceberry is more likely to appear in the <br />• second and third years after treatment. <br />Acknowledgements <br />The authors acknowledge the advice and assistance of Dan Mathews and Sandy <br />Brown of the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety, Roy Karo and Vern <br />Pfannenstiel of Seneca Coal Company and Peabody Energy, and John Frank and John <br />Korfmacher of the U.S. Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station, and the <br />assistance of numerous students from the Colorado State University Department of <br />Forest, Rangeland, and Watershed Stewardship. The study was funded by the US DOI <br />Office of Surface Mining National Technology Transfer Team, Peabody Energy, US <br />Forest Service, and Colorado State University. <br />Literature Cited <br />• Agnew, W. 1992. Woody plant establishment on reclaimed lands at Trapper Mine in