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Cover Sampling <br />Cover data were collected along 50 m transects using a point- intercept method in which data were <br />recorded as interceptions of a point with a plant species, litter, standing dead plant material, soil, or rock. <br />Plant material produced during the current year and still standing was tallied by species. Litter was <br />considered to be any organic material that had fallen, or had begun to fall to the soil surface. Standing <br />dead was any dead plant material that was produced in previous years but which was still standing and <br />had not lodged or broken off to become litter. Inorganic material greater than 1 cm in diameter was <br />considered rock. The cover sampling points were optically projected using a Cover -Point Optical Point <br />Projection Device developed by ESCO Associates. 50 m transects were randomly located and randomly <br />oriented in the reclaimed and reference areas. One hundred points were collected along each transect. <br />At each meter along the 50 m length, points were projected 0.5 m to the right and 0.5 to the left of the <br />transect, thus minimizing trampling effects. <br />First hit interceptions were used to calculate absolute top layer foliar cover (see FIRST HIT AVERAGE <br />COVER column in data tables) by dividing the number of interceptions for a particular species or ground <br />cover type by the total number of points taken (100). First hit relative vegetation cover was calculated by <br />dividing first hit absolute cover for each species by the total first hit vegetation cover (see FIRST HIT <br />RELATIVE VEGETATION COVER). All -layer absolute cover (ALL HIT AVERAGE COVER column in data <br />tables) was calculated by dividing all hits (first -hits and additional -hits) for a particular species by the total <br />number of points taken (100). In addition, all -layer relative cover was calculated using all hits for a <br />particular species, divided by the total hits accumulated during sampling of the transect (see ALL HIT <br />RELATIVE VEGETATION COVER). <br />Herbaceous Production Sampling <br />Herbaceous production sampling was accomplished using one -half square meter (0.5 sq.m.) circular plots <br />within which all herbaceous growth in a vertical projection was clipped and placed in labeled paper bags. <br />Clipped plant material were grouped into the following lifeforms, bagged and labeled as: <br />- Native Annual / Biennial Forbs <br />- Native Annual Grasses <br />- Native Perennial Forbs <br />- Native Perennial Grasses and Graminoids <br />- Introduced Annual / Biennial Forbs <br />- Introduced Annual Grasses <br />- Introduced Perennial Forbs <br />- Introduced Perennial Grasses <br />Lichens, mosses, and woody plant species present in the sample plot were not collected. Noxious weeds <br />were not collected. Clipped material was returned to the ESCO laboratory and oven dried at 105 °C for 24 <br />hours, then weighed to the nearest 0.1 gm. <br />Woody Plant Density Sampling <br />Woody plant density sampling was undertaken in all reclaimed areas sampled but not in the reference <br />areas. Samples were collected along 50 m transects. All shrubs and subshrubs with root crowns located <br />within the boundaries of 2 m x 50 m quadrats (belt transects) were tallied according to species and life <br />2 <br />