Mined-land reclamation practices in shrub-steppe ecosystems can be augmented by planting seedlings of locally dominant shrubs, e.g., mountain big sagebrush. Dispersion pattern could affect sagebrush performance by influencing amounts of windborne snow, soil and litter which accumulate around shrubs and by influencing water withdrawal by roots. Mountain big sagebrush seedlings were planted in plots on a reclaimed coal strip mine in two dispersion patterns: singly and in clumps of four at the same overall density. Performance of mountain big sagebrush was monitored during two growing seasons. Measures included plant survival, end-of-growing season aboveground biomass, leaf water potential components, soil water potential, twig and ephemeral leaf survival and reproductive allocation. Most measures of performance were similar for single and clumped plants. However, single plants had a greater twig elongation rate than clumped plants, and roots of plants in clumps removed less soil water to 50 cm than roots of single plants. In order for shrub dispersion pattern to affect plant performance via differential snow, soil or litter accumulation, the plants would have to respond to the added resources, probably water and nitrogen. An experiment was conducted to test if a small extra increment of water and nitrogen would affect mountain big sagebrush plants. The same plant performance indices listed above were monitored. The added water and nitrogen, either alone or in combination, had no effect except on reproduction. In 1983, there was a significant water* fertilizer interaction observed for some of the reproductive metrics, while in 1984 there was a significant water effect. While a significant main effect of nitrogen was expected under the prevailing wet conditions, the large reservoir of soil nitrogen evidently provided sufficient nitrogen. Reproduction was more sensitive to added water and nitrogen resources than was vegetative growth. The nearly equal performance of mountain big sagebrush in the two dispersion patterns may have resulted from several factors. Water availability to the experimental shrubs was very high throughout the study due to abnormally heavy precipitation and to removal of weeds from the plots. During drier years, dispersion pattern may have greater influence on the shrubs.

For this study, the abundance of the salamander fauna in two streams was compared to determine the impact of logging activities. After five months of study, the area around one stream was logged by the National Forest Service. Following logging, the abundance of salamanders in the stream was greatly reduced, while the population in the undisturbed stream remained relatively unchanged. Six abundant species were used as indicators; two of these species (Desmognathus quadramaculatus and Desmognathus ochrophaeus) were negatively affected by the logging, while four species (Demognathus fuscus, Desmognathus monticola, Eurycea wilderae, and Gyrinophilus porphyriticus) were not affected. Body sizes of salamanders, used to represent age class, were analyzed to determine if the age/size structures of the populations were altered. This parameter was not impacted significantly by logging; all age/size classes of the populations were equally affected.