FY97-99 Vegetation Analysis of ALCD Soil Amended Landfill Cover Plots

A large-scale field demonstration comparing final landfill cover designs has been constructed and is currently being monitored at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Two conventional designs (a RCRA Subtitle ‘D’ Soil Cover and a RCRA Subtitle ‘C’ Compacted Clay Cover) were constructed side-by-side with four alternative cover test plots designed for dry environments. The demonstration is intended to evaluate the various cover designs based on their respective water balance performance, ease and reliability of construction, and cost. A portion of this project involves the characterization of vegetation establishment and growth on the landfill covers. The various prototype landfill covers are expected to have varying flux rates (Dwyer et al 2000). The landfill covers are further expected to influence vegetation establishment and growth, which may impact site erosion potential and long-term site integrity. Objectives of this phase are to quantify the types of plants occupying each site, the percentage of ground covered by these plants, the density (number of plants per 1 Principal Investigator 2 Senior Hydrologist