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SECTION 4:YEAR 5 TREE MONITORING RESULTS <br /> trees. The main stem of these uprooted trees was snapped,and the lateral surviving , <br /> branches will form a brushy growth habit. <br /> The three box elders that are counted as dead in Year 4 (2010) occur beneath a dense <br /> cottonwood canopy and it is possible that they are completely shade-suppressed but possess <br /> a live root-stock. If an opening in the tree canopy occurs in future years,it is possible that , <br /> new lateral growth or stump-sprouts could form on these box elders. <br /> The average heath and vigor score for Area A is 2.5,which corresponds to a rank in between , <br /> "high" and"medium' (Appendix A). This is the highest score recorded in any of the <br /> planting areas in Year 4 (2010).The health and vigor scores for this planting area have <br /> exhibited very little variation during Years 1 through 4,based on the similarity of scores <br /> recorded (Table 4-2). <br /> Year 5 (2011) <br /> As shown in Table 4-1,the Year 5 (2011) survivorship rate in Area A is 88 percent. This rate <br /> of survivorship is slightly lower than that observed in Year 4 (2010) (93 percent).Three box <br /> elders,one black willow, and one valley oak were counted as dead in Year 5 (2011) <br /> (Appendix A). The three box elders that are counted as dead occur beneath a dense <br /> cottonwood canopy and it is possible that they are completely shade-suppressed but possess <br /> a live root-stock. If an opening in the tree canopy occurs in future years,it is possible that <br /> new lateral growth or stump-sprouts could form on these box elders. In addition to the box <br /> elders, one black willow was recorded as dead. <br /> A small fire adjacent to Whiskey Slough Road during summer 2011 singed the foliage of a j <br /> few trees in Area A in Year 5 (2011). One valley oak located a few feet away from the road <br /> was burned and recorded as dead in Year 5 (2011). The fire also burned the lower branches <br /> of a few other trees close to the road, and it is possible that these trees could die over the <br /> next few years, slightly increasing the average tree mortality in this planting area. <br /> The average heath and vigor score for Area A in Year 5 (2011) is 2.1,which is just slightly ' <br /> higher than a"medium' rank (Appendix A).This score is lower than the scores observed in <br /> previous monitoring years (Table 4-2). The drop in vigor score in Year 5 (2011) is due to the <br /> loss of tree foliage and branches that were burned in one small part of the planting sub area. ' <br /> Only a few trees were affected by the fire, and most of the vegetation will likely re-grow <br /> next season. However,it is possible that the burned trees could later succumb to insects or <br /> pathogens, and these trees will be re-examined during future site visits and system checks. ' <br /> 4.2 Addition to Area A <br /> This planting area is composed of three distinct planting zones (higher,middle, and lower). <br /> Six species of trees (and a total of 60 trees) were planted in this area. This area was added <br /> during plant installation;therefore, this sub area and planting zones are not depicted in ' <br /> Figure 1-3,Planting Plan.This planting area is shown on Figure 14,Actual Planting Layout. <br /> Year 1 (2007) <br /> Two trees, one box elder and one Fremont cottonwood (out of a total of 60 trees), died in <br /> this planting area. The average percent survivorship was 97 percent(Table 4-1). This sub <br /> 4-4 SAC14203071113570001(YEAR5-2011_HOLTTREE MONITORING_REPORT-FINALDOCX( <br />