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During the 6 -yr plot harvesting program, precipita- <br />tion was variable and produced an unusually moist year <br />(1978 when precipitation was approximately 140 of <br />the growing season mean) and an unusually dry year <br />(1980 when precipitation was approximately 50% of <br />the growing season mean). Production during these 2 yr <br />is depicted in Fig. 4, and it was not until soil depth ex- <br />ceeded 60 cm that the production lines for the wet and <br />dry years diverged. In the soil depth zone of 60 to 152 <br />cm, relative production during the wet year was ap- <br />proximately 10% greater than production during the <br />dry year; however these differences were not significant <br />at the 5% level. Therefore, variations in precipitation <br />appear to have no significant influence on soil depth re- <br />quirements for maximum production of cool - season <br />perennial grasses. <br />Data collected by E. J. DePuit (personal communica- <br />tion) suggested that soil depth requirements for maxi- <br />mum vegetative production may change in response to <br />plant maturation and other aspects of community devel- <br />opment. Presented in Fig. 4 is the response of perennial <br />grasses to increasing soil depth during the first 3 yr of <br />the study as compared with the last 3 yr. The production <br />responses were similar, except for one area. During the <br />1981 to 1983 period, cool- season grass production at the <br />50 -cm soil depth was significantly greater (at the 5% <br />level) than production during the 1978 to 1980 period. <br />These data suggest that soil depth requirements to maxi- <br />mize forage production become more clearly defined as <br />time progresses. <br />REFERENCES <br />1. Bingham, F. T. 1982. Boron. In A. L. Page et al. (ed.) Methods <br />of soil analysis, part 2. 2nd Ed. Agronomy 9:443 -444. Am. Soc. <br />ofAgron., Madison, WI. <br />2. Bohm, W. 1979. Methods of studying root systems. Springer - <br />Verlag, New York. p. 78 -79. <br />3. Day, P. R. 1965. Particle fractionation and particle size analysis. <br />In C. A. Black et al. (ed.) Methods of soil analysis, part 1. Agron- <br />my 9:545 -567. Am. Soc. of Agron., Madison, WI. <br />4. DePuit, E. J., C. J. Skilbred, and J. G. Coenenberg. 1980. <br />Vegetation characteristics on sodic mine spoils. p. 48 -74. In D. J. <br />Dollhopf et al. (ed.) Chemical amendments and irrigation effects <br />on sodium migration and vegetation characteristics on sodic mine <br />soils in Montana. Montana Agric. Exp. Stn. Bull. no. 736. <br />6. DePuit, E. J., C. J. Skilbred, and J. G. Coenenberg. 1982. Ef- <br />fects of two years of irrigation on revegetation of coal surface - <br />mined lands in southeastern Montana. J. Range Manage. 35:67- <br />74. <br />7. Fehrenbacher, D. J., I. J. Jansen, and J. B. 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