Descriptions of plant communities at the proposed reference repository location and implications for reclamation of disturbed ground
This report presents an ecological description of the natural vegetation in the Cold Creek Valley located in the west central portion of the US Department of Energy's (DOE) Hanford Site in southeastern Washington state. The description includes plant species composition, canopy cover, and shrub density obtained from 10 study plots distributed in three habitat-types: sagebrush/Sandberg's bluegrass, spiny hopsage/Sandberg's bluegrass, and sagebrush/needle-and-thread grass. Of the relatively few species of shrubs and herbs in the Cold Creek Valley, the most abundant were sagebrush and spiny hopsage. The most abundant herbs were cheatgrass, Sandberg's bluegrass, and needle-and-thread grass. The amount of canopy cover provided by shrubs ranged between 7.4 and 33% in seven plots without a history of recent burning. Herbaceous plants in these same plots provided canopy cover that ranged between 18 and 41%. The three plots placed in areas with a recent history of burning had more herbaceous cover than did adjacent plots without a recent burn history. This was attributed to absence of living shrubs and freedom from competition for soil water and nutrients. There was less living herb cover in 1987 than in 1986 which is likely due to the lesser amount of growing season precipitation in 1987 (i.e. 10.3 cm vs 17.1 cm). Even with the absence of livestock grazing for 44 years, cheatgrass, an exotic annual generally provided more canopy cover than native perennial grasses. However, in the few places with good stands of Sandberg's bluegrass, cheatgrass was less abundant. 12 refs., 6 figs., 6 tabs.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC06-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 5212057
- Report Number(s):
- PNL-6494; ON: DE88007923
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
HANFORD RESERVATION
BASELINE ECOLOGY
LAND RECLAMATION
IMPLEMENTATION
PLANTS
INVENTORIES
BIRDS
ENDANGERED SPECIES
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
MITIGATION
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
SITE CHARACTERIZATION
SPECIES DIVERSITY
TAXONOMY
UNDERGROUND DISPOSAL
ANIMALS
BIOLOGY
ECOLOGY
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
VERTEBRATES
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES
510500* - Environment
Terrestrial- Site Resource & Use Studies- (-1989)
052002 - Nuclear Fuels- Waste Disposal & Storage