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of drought or other stress incrementally "age" the youthful reclamation sites. In light of this prospect <br />and the current reality of competition- suppressed forb and woody plant presence, it is appropriate to <br />place the benchmark for what will be taken to currently comprise adequately diverse reclamation in <br />the lower half of the spectrum of diversity of the Reference Areas. <br />Standards. The proposed assessment of adequately diverse vegetation composition at the Yoast Mine) <br />will take the form of the following four tests; success is to be demonstrated by passing at least two of <br />the three Alternative Tests (B, C, or D) plus the Mandatory Test (A). <br />• MANDATORY TESTA: No Overwhelming Dominant <br />No single plant species may exceed 60% relative cover. <br />• ALTERNATIVE TEST B: Total Speczes Density Test <br />This overall reclamation diversity standard will be judged based on the area weighted mean species <br />density values observed as a part of the cover sampling in the 100 sq.m. sample plots that accompany <br />the standard cover /species presence samples determined from sampling of the Reference Area <br />appropriate to the shrub grassland or mesic drainage reclaimed types. Species density numbers will be <br />subjected to sample adequacy assessment in the usual CDMG manner. Experience has shown that <br />species density almost always is adequately sampled at the point that cover sampling is adequate and <br />that is usually with the minimum sample number. <br />For purpose of establishing the range of species density within the Reference Area, the 75% range of <br />variation would be established as: <br />zxs <br />Where: <br />z = the number of standard deviations (both ways from the mean) encompassing 75% of the <br />normal distribution (= 1.15; see Rohlf and Soka11969, Table P) <br />s = area weighted species density standard deviation for the reference area (n -1) <br />The standard is the point at which the central 75% of the distribution of overall species density in the <br />Reference Areas begins. Mathematically this would be: <br />RN -03 <br />42 <br />Revised 10/10 <br />