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 Cover
90
%
Shrub Cover
50
%
Field Cover
70
%
Nonvascular Cover
30
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Plot situated on a very bouldery, high elevation, upper north slope, just below the cap of sandstone outcrops along the crest of Flattop Mountain, ca. 80 m NNW of White Rock and summit. Soils here are evidently sandy and oligotrophic, supporting a rather poor northern hardwood forest dominated by Betula allegheniensis, Quercus rubra, Acer pensylvanicum, Ilex montana and Viburnum lantanoides. Dryopteris campyloptera and Clintonia borealis are phenomenally abundant in herb layer, forming dense colonies.