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
25
m
Shrub Height
6
m
Field Height
5
m
Tree Cover
90
%
Shrub Cover
40
%
Field Cover
30
%
Nonvascular Cover
20
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Plot location: east-facing slope on east ridge of Bull Run Mountain, 1.2 km W of Catletts Branch and 2.02 km N of Beverly Mill. Marked with a metal tree tag. See form/report for sketch. Rock types present: flaggy quartzite debris.
The west-facing slope at this site has considerable exposed, silty mineral soil and supports a mixed oak-hickory forest with many low-cover herbaceous xerophytes. Quercus alba is the overstory dominant, with scattered associates of Quercus montana, Quercus rubra, Quercus velutina, and Fraxinus americana. Carya spp. are common in the understory. The presence of canopy-sized Fraxinus and the abundance of Viburnum prunifolium in the shrub layer are unusual for this community type in the Bull Run Mountains.