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
27
m
Shrub Height
5
m
Field Height
3
m
Tree Cover
85
%
Shrub Cover
90
%
Field Cover
0.5
%
Nonvascular Cover
4
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
The plot documents a dense and extremely sterile oak / heath forest on the upper slope of a ridge along Scotts Run. The species-poor forest vegetation contains only 12 vascular species and is dominated by Quercus montana and Quercus alba in the overstory, Acer rubrum and Nyssa sylvatica in the understory, and Kalmia latifolia in the shrub layer. Charcoal fragments in the soil indicate that this site was burned in the past, but the presence of invading mesophytes such as Acer rubrum, Fagus grandifolia and Asimina triloba suggests that fire has been excluded for some decades.