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The locations of the 10 cover transects sampled on this site are shown on Map 1, Southfield <br />Mine Area - Vegetation Transect Location Map.. The sample adequacy calculations in Table 2, <br />Southfield Mine Sample Adequacy Calculations, document that the number of samples required <br />to describe this site at the 90 percent confidence interval was 3.7 transects. <br />Production. The results obtained from the 10 production transects sampled on this site in 2010 <br />are presented in Table 4, Vento Reclamation - Production. The average total production on this <br />site was determined to equal 42.74 g/1 /4m or 1,523.3 pounds of air -dry forage per acre. <br />Perennial grasses contributed an average of 36.49 g/1 /4m or 85.38 percent of the total forage <br />production. Perennial forbs, contributed an average of 2.18 g/1 /4m or 5.10 percent of the total <br />herbaceous production. Annual forbs contributed a total of 3.96 g/1 /4m or 9.27 percent of the <br />total herbaceous production. Annual grasses contributed a total of 0.11 g/1 /4m or 0.26 percent <br />of the total herbaceous production. <br />When sampled in 2006, average total herbaceous production was 32.70 g/1 /4m or 1,165.4 <br />pounds of air -dry forage per acre. Perennial grasses contributed 20.67 g/1 /4m or 63.3 percent <br />of the total forage production. Perennial forbs, contributed an average of 4.52 g/1 /4m or 13.8 <br />percent of the total herbaceous production. Annuals contributed a total of 7.49 g/1 /4m or 22.9 <br />percent of the total herbaceous production. These production monitoring data suggest that <br />forage production on this reclaimed area is increasing over time. <br />The final revegetation success standard for production is to be determined based upon sampling <br />of the two reference areas and by using a weighted average of these sites. There was no <br />reference area sampling performed in this evaluation, therefore, the probable revegetation <br />success standard obtained from the 1987 and 1997 sampling of the Grassland Reference Area <br />was used as a relative comparison of revegetation success. In 1987, the total herbaceous <br />production was determined to average 74.08 grams / m or 660.1 pounds of air dry forage per <br />acre and in 1997, production averaged 32.55 g/1 /4 m or 1,160 pounds of air dry forage per acre. <br />Using these historic reference area data, the relative revegetation success standard for production <br />would average approximately 25.54 g/1 /4 m or 910 pounds of air dry forage per acre. Since the <br />value obtained from the 2010 sampling yielded an average of 42.74 g/1/4 m or 1,523.3 pounds <br />of air dry forage per acre and this value exceeds the probable revegetation success standard, it <br />can be concluded that the revegetation on the Vento Reclamation exceeds the probable <br />production revegetation success standard. <br />Table 2, Southfield Mine Statistical Summary and Sample Adequacy Calculations, reveals that <br />the sample adequacy for forage production on this site at the 90 percent confidence interval was <br />determined to equal 7.2 transects. The locations of the 10 production transects are shown on <br />Map 1, Southfield Mine Area - Vegetation Transect Location Map. <br />Shrub Density. The shrub density counts obtained from the 10 belt transects sampled on this in <br />2010 are summarized in Table 5, Vento Reclamation - Shrub Density. The average shrub density <br />was determined to equal 16.00 shrubs per one hundred square meters or 647.2 shrubs per acre. <br />Fourwing Saltbush and Rubber Rabbitbrush and were the most commonly encountered shrubs. <br />7 <br />