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Soil Investigations for Data Collection in the Delta Initial Study/Proposed Mitigated Negative Declaration 96 b. A qualified botanist will conduct a habitat assessment to determine whether the habitat is appropriate for special-status plants. If suitable habitat is present, the qualified botanist will conduct a habitat quality assessment to determine the potential for presence of sensitive plant species. The habitat quality assessment will consider factors such as soil type, degree and frequency of previous soil disturbance, abundance of invasive species, and distance from known sensitive plant occurrences. If a qualified botanist determines that special-status plants are likely to occur at a proposed Impact Area, a botanical survey will be conducted within the Impact Area at each soil investigation site. When feasible based on scheduling and property access, the surveys will be conducted at proper times of year when special-status and locally significant plants are both evident and identifiable; will be floristic in nature, ensuring that all plants observed are identified to a level sufficient for determining rarity, and will be conducted using systematic field techniques in all habitats of the site to ensure thorough coverage of potential Impact Areas. c. Any special-status plant species present within 10 meters of an Impact Area will be flagged, or mapped using a GPS, for avoidance. A qualified botanist will establish an appropriate buffer. During field activities avoidance of the buffered area will be enforced by an environmental monitor to ensure that special-status plants are avoided to the maximum extent practicable. d. If special-status plant species (excluding listed species) are present within the Impact Area and impacts cannot practicably be avoided, a qualified botanist will evaluate the following criteria to ensure these impacts are less than significant: i. the total range and distribution of the species, ii. local population abundance, iii. approximate number of individuals potentially impacted, iv. area of habitat potentially impacted, v. life history of the species (annual versus perennial and seedbank dynamics), vi. species sensitivity and response to disturbance, vii. species fecundity, and viii. the probability of population recovery from impacts. If loss of individuals due to project activities would exceed 2% of the local population or if the particular life history of the plant species indicates that a loss of that scale would threaten the persistence of the local population, or if