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• examined growth and survival of aspen trees planted October 2004 on reclaimed soils. <br />Half of the trees were planted on fresh roto - cleared soil moved directly to the site. The <br />other half was planted on dozer - cleared soil that had been stored for a period of time. <br />An additional treatment was added during the 2006 growing season to compare weeded <br />vs non - weeded plots. This report provides information regarding growth and survival for <br />2006, the second growing season after planting. Aspen trees planted from potted <br />nursery stock, and trees from natural sprouts on reclaimed soil were also examined. <br />Objectives: <br />The objective of this study initially was to examine the survival, growth, and water <br />status of irrigated aspen transplants on roto - cleared and dozer - cleared topsoil placed <br />over coal mine overburden material that had been replaced after surface mining. <br />However, circumstances allowed us to expand the original study design to collect <br />growth and survival data from: 1) aspen plants transplanted from a nearby mine, placed <br />in dozer - cleared and roto - cleared topsoil within a fenced area and drip irrigated at three <br />watering levels and an unwatered control; 2) unwatered sprouts arising naturally from <br />aspen root segments that had been transported to the site in the two different soil types; <br />3) trees in plots weeded compared to those non - weeded; and 4) commercially grown <br />potted aspen seedlings that were planted in a nearby fenced area. <br />Methods: <br />The initial project was a case study of the effectiveness of irrigation treatment on <br />the survival, growth, and water status of aspen cuttings planted on a single site of <br />reclaimed land of the Seneca Coal Company II -W mine south of Hayden, Colorado <br />(Figure 1). The irrigated portion of the study was designed to measure the effect of <br />supplemental irrigation on aspen saplings that had been transplanted on the II -W mine <br />site from a naturally regenerating site on the Yoast mine where the original forest had <br />been cleared in preparation for mining. Aspen saplings between 1 -2 m in height were <br />selected from this site at the end of the growing season in 2004 and pruned to leave <br />only the uppermost branches intact. In October, 2004, these saplings were dug using a <br />small backhoe and immediately transplanted into augered holes that had been prepared <br />A <br />