Releve Virginia Division of Natural Heritage, see http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural_heritage/documents/nh_plotform_instructions.pdf
Overall Taxon Cover Values are Automatically Calculated?
no
Stem Observation Area
400
m²
Plot Quality Fields:
Plot Validation Level
(2) classification plot: sufficient for inclusion in a classification revision
Overall Plot Vegetation Fields:
Tree Height
14
m
Shrub Height
6
m
Field Height
5
m
Tree Cover
70
%
Shrub Cover
70
%
Field Cover
70
%
Nonvascular Cover
0.5
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Plot location: ca. 30 m west of ridge crest on east ridge of Bull Run Mountain, 2.46 km NE of Hopewell Gap. Marked with a metal tree tag. See form/report for sketch. Rock types present: massive, thick-bedded quartzite boulders and fragments.
The vegetation in this plot was formerly co-dominated by Quercus montana and Pinus rigida, which probably indicated frequent or severe past fires on this very dry, upper-slope site. However, all overstory pines were killed within the last decade by an outbreak of southern pine beetles (Dendroctonus frontalis). The residual stand is characterized by widely spaced, stunted (<15 m tall) Quercus montana, with a dense shrub understory dominated by Gaylussacia baccata and Kalmia latifolia. The shrubby Quercus marilandica is frequent in this and similar ridge-crest forests on the east ridge of Bull Run Mountain. Soils here are extremely oligotrophic, species richness is very low (n=15), and herbaceous plants are nearly lacking.