_GENERAL DOCUMENTS - C1981017 (218)

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-4- Herbaceous production will be sampled by clipping all the current year's growth above a height of 0.5 cm in a 0.25 m2 quadrat for each life form. Following sample collection, the clipped material will be oven dried at 1050C for 24 hours and weighed to the nearest 0.1 gram. Plant material will be dried at Native Plant's facilities. For both cover and production, a minimum of five samples will be collected in each soil depth class within each sampling area. Additional samples may be collected if the plot of the running mean has not substantially levelled off by the time the fifth sample has been obtained. (The levelling off of the running mean would signify attainment of a minimum level of accuracy for the sample means. This, in turn, would ensure that the feasability of achieving the success standards is neither over - nor underestimated) . Fresh weight will be used in computing the running mean in the field. Woody plant density will be measured on the 1978 and 1979 sampling areas by using the cover transects as the center lines of 1 m wide belt transects, extending the length of the cover transect. All woody plants with heights greater than 10 cm will be counted within these belt transects in order to assess the feasability of achieving the woody plant density standard established by the Colorado MLRD. The cover and production data will be compared to the aspen shrubland reference data to assess the feasability of meeting the success standards. In addition, both the cover and production data will be separately analyzed using a two-way analysis of variance to examine soil depth and planting date, as well as the interaction of these two factors. If there are no significant differences among soil depth classes for any of the planting dates, then there is defensible data to justify a reduction in the amount of soil material covering the coal refuse. In the event that significant differences are found