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
70
%
Shrub Cover
70
%
Field Cover
50
%
Nonvascular Cover
20
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Bouldery northern hardwood forest with a fairly typical composition for the Mount Rogers - Whitetop area. Ongoing successional changes are evident here: Fagus grandifolia and Betula alleghaniensis, some of them quite large, dominate the canopy, while Acer saccharum is the overwhelming dominant of understory and shrub layers. Northern hardwood mortality due to air pollution is only occasional in the vicinity of this stand.
Plot located on southeastern slope of Whitetop Mountain, just downslope of FR 89 to summit, on west side of its 180 degree bend around the headwaters of Whitetop Creek, 0.9 mi southwest of Elk Garden.