2011-09-07_REVISION - C1994082 ‎(2)‎

• Permit No: C1994082
• IBM Index Class Name: REVISION
• Doc Date: 9/7/2011
• Doc Name: Adequacy Review Responses
• From: Seneca Coal Company
• To: DRMS
• Type & Sequence: SL3
• Email Name: SLB
• Email Name: SB1
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

Action
Phase II Bond Release
Reference Areas
Quantitative Cover Sampling
Min. 15 samples
(and to adequacy *)
Min. 15 samples (and to
adequacy *)
Quantitative Production
Sampling
NA **
NA **
Woody Plant Density Sampling -
Background
NA**
NA **
Woody Plant Density Sampling —
Concentration Areas
NA**
NA **
Species Density Sampling
NA — sampled in 2009 for
informational purposes
NA — sampled in 2009 for
informational purposes
Success Demonstration
Approach
Hypoth. Testing for cover
NA
•
Summary of Sampling Design
* Or to fifty samples
** Not applicable — Phase II bond release is concerned with cover values only
Cover Sampling
Cover data were collected along 50 m transects using a point- intercept method in which data
were recorded as interceptions of a point with either plant species, litter, standing dead plant
material, soil, or rock. Plant material produced during the current growing season and still
standing was tallied by species. Litter was considered to be any organic material that had fallen,
or had begun to fall to the soil surface. Standing dead was any dead plant material that was
produced in previous years but which was still standing and had not lodged or broken off to
become litter. Inorganic materials greater than 1 cm in diameter were considered rock. The
cover sampling points were optically projected using a Cover -Point Optical Point Projection
Device developed by ESCO Associates. The 50 m transects were randomly located and oriented
in the reclaimed and reference areas. One hundred points were collected along each transect. A
pair of points were collected every meter with points sampled on opposite sides of each transect,
0.5 m from the transect.
First hit interceptions were used to calculate absolute top layer foliar cover (see COVER column
in data tables) by dividing the number of interceptions for a particular species or ground cover
type by the total number of points taken (100). First hit relative vegetation cover was calculated
by dividing first hit absolute cover for each species by the total first hit vegetation cover. All -layer
absolute cover (COVER -ALL column in data tables) was calculated by dividing all hits (first -hits