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• Cover Sampling — Cover sampling will be by the preferred point- intercept method, but <br />may not be limited to that method as per Section 4.15.11(1)(a )(ii) and (iii) and as approved <br />in consultation with CDRMS. <br />�J <br />Percent cover values that will be assessed include; percent cover by plant species, percent <br />total vegetation cover, percent litter, percent standing dead, percent rock, percent bare <br />ground, and percent total cover (vegetation plus litter plus standing dead, plus rock). Point <br />intercept will allow for layered hits if additional species occur below first hit interceptions. <br />This allows for measuring stratified vegetation cover, a more accurate measure of species <br />composition, and separation of all -hit herbaceous cover. <br />Along each sample transect, the presence of less common species not hit during the point - <br />intercept sampling will be documented by recording the presence of all additional plant <br />species occurring within one m on either side of the sample transect. Thus, from each 50 <br />m (m) cover sample transect comes a measure of species "density" that can be expressed as <br />a number of species per 100 square meters useful for assessing species richness. <br />"First Hit" percent cover at every sample location will be calculated for each plant species <br />as well as rock, bare soil, and litter by dividing the total number of intercepts for each by <br />the total number of points (100). Relative plant cover will be calculated by dividing the <br />First Hit cover of each plant species by the total First Hit vegetation cover. "All Hit" <br />percent cover will be calculated for each plant species by dividing the total number of hits <br />on a species (First Hits plus Other Hits occurring in a stratified canopy) by the total <br />number of points projected. Relative All Hit cover will be calculated by dividing the All <br />Hit cover for each species by the total All Hit vegetation cover. <br />Cover data reporting will be organized by the following life form categories: <br />- Native Annual / Biennial Forbs - Introduced Annual / Biennial Forbs <br />- Native Annual Grasses - Introduced Annual Grasses <br />- Native Perennial Forbs - Introduced Perennial Forbs <br />- Native Perennial Graminoids <br />- Introduced Perennial Graminoids <br />- Native Shrubs <br />- Lichens <br />- Fungi <br />- Native Subshrubs <br />- Native Trees <br />- Succulents <br />- Bryophytes (mosses) <br />- Algae <br />Reclaimed area all hit herbaceous cover will be equal to or greater than 90 percent of the <br />average all hit herbaceous cover from the sagebrush grassland reference areas. <br />Production Sampling — Herbaceous production samples will be taken at the same point <br />origins used for cover sampling. The number of samples will be adequate for use in a <br />"reverse null hypothesis" test. If the herbaceous production values from the reclaimed area <br />are greater than the reference area mean, the hypothesis of reclamation sample adequacy <br />for production will be tested using the "reverse null hypothesis" (see Hypothesis Testing, <br />below). <br />PR -02 2.05.4 -3 06110 <br />