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Total average vegetation cover for first hits was 71.5 percent. For herbaceous vegetation, total average <br />cover for first hits was 12.8 percent. Cover by standing dead, litter, bare soil and rock averaged 0.7, 21.5, <br />6.2 and 0.0 percent, respectively. Average species density was 33.1 species per 100sq. m. <br />Sagebrush /Snowberry Reference Area <br />(Photographs 13 through 16) <br />COVER <br />(Table 3) <br />Native shrubs were the predominant lifeform observed in the Sagebrush /Snowberry Reference Area, <br />contributing 26.3 percent toward total first -hit vegetation cover. Of this, mountain snowberry <br />(Symphoricarpos rotundifolius) contributed 13.3 percent and big sagebrush (Seriphidium tridentatum) <br />contributed 10.8 percent. Native perennial cool season grasses and native perennial forbs made <br />moderate contributions to cover, with 23.0 and 19.3 percent, respectively. <br />Total average vegetation cover for first hits was 71.1 percent. For herbaceous vegetation, total average <br />cover for first hits was 44.7 percent. Cover by standing dead, litter, bare soil and rock averaged 2.3, 19.4, <br />7.3 and 0.0 percent respectively. Average species density was 28.7 species per 100sq. m. <br />DISCUSSION <br />Climatic Conditions <br />The year preceding sampling in July 2010 included well below average moisture from late summer of <br />2009 to early spring of 2010. This dry sequence was ended by a two month 'spike' of precipitation in April <br />and May 2010 (Figures 4a and 4b). When compared to other years in which monitoring has occurred <br />back to 1987, the cumulative 12 months total precipitation prior to sampling ranked 2010 as the second <br />lowest for the 24 years of record (Figure 5b). However, total precipitation for the previous six months was <br />slightly above average for the period of record back to 1987 (Figure 6b). The cumulative four month <br />precipitation values back to 1987 (Figure 7b) show that 2010 was also above the 24 -year average. With <br />regard to temperature, cumulative January through June 2010 warmth was well below average, the fourth <br />coldest recorded in the past 25 years (Figure 8). <br />9 <br />