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Mcginnies and Nicholas, 1982, demonstrated with field and greenhouse studies that vegetation stands, herbage <br />yield, and root production all increased linearly as soil depths increased from 0 to 1.5 feet. Barth (1984) found that <br />production of perennial grasses on bare spoil with no adverse properties was as great as when spoil was covered <br />with soil of any thickness. <br />DePuit, 1984, points out that plant community composition and diversity for rangeland is often reached at shallower <br />soil depths than what is required for maximum production. This phenomenon apparently exists at the Seneca Mine <br />in northwestern Colorado where Pfannenstiel and Wendt (1985) demonstrated that 0.5 feet of soil applied to Wadge <br />spoil in 1976 has produced a native looking sagebrush grassland community with a shrub density of 1,450 <br />stems /acre. Proper soil handling techniques used in combination with suitable spoil replacement and soil /spoil <br />scarification, where needed to reduce compaction, are more effective in reestablishing minesoil productivity than 50 <br />years of succession on poor quality minesoils (Schafer et al., 1979). <br />A mean soil replacement thickness of approximately 1.8 feet (1.0 foot minimum excluding shrub islands where 0.5 <br />feet of soil will be applied) over final graded spoil at Yoast Mine and 1.1 feet (0.5 foot minimum) over final graded <br />undisturbed substratum along Haul Roads A and B and the facilities in Section 8 will be beneficial to establishing a <br />good seedbed and rooting medium. This conclusion is supported by the above referenced literature, premine soil <br />survey (Tab 9), and vegetation inventories (Tab 10), as well as on -site data from Peabody's Seneca II and II -W <br />Mines. The anticipated loamy soil texture will likely have favorable infiltration and water holding characteristics. <br />Also, the spoil medium immediately below the soil will typically have desirable chemical and physical characteristics <br />for plant growth including a loamy texture, low sodicity and salinity, and moderately low saturation percentage for <br />acceptable water holding characteristics, and no minor element toxicity problems (see Tab 6, Geology and <br />Overburden Assessment). <br />Maintenance and Testing Procedures. Prior to distribution of soil in the Wolf Creek and deeper Wadge coal areas, <br />final graded areas (on which soil is to be applied) will be sampled to confirm spoil suitability (see Tab 21, <br />Overburden /Spoil Handling Plan for more details). The density and physical characteristics of the replaced soil and <br />upper spoil <br />MR -40 24 Revised 10/12 <br />