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
29
m
Shrub Height
4
m
Field Height
5
m
Tree Cover
90
%
Shrub Cover
45
%
Field Cover
20
%
Nonvascular Cover
45
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
This site is a sheltered, mesic slope along Peters Mill Run at the top of Woodstock Gap. Eastern hemlock trees here have suffered less damage from hemlock woolly adelgid than at many other sites and have largely intact crowns. The forest is a mixed hemlock-hardwood-white pine stand with largely ericaceous understory. While mesic, the substrate consists of deeply piled quartzite boulders with a dense, root-rich organic mantle, which greatly limits herbaceous diversity and cover.
0-2 cm: leaf and needle litter
2-20 cm: organic matter / root mat / stones
20+ cm: yellow-brown organic-rich loamy sand, interstitial among stones and boulders
Soil samples impossible to collect except on stream bank
Disturbance Data:
Disturbance Type
Disturbance Intensity
Disturbance Comment
unknown
Fire scars on trees. Just upstream, where the cove flattens out and broadens, are several established camp sites with fire rings. Vegetation has been severely trampled and/or removed in the vicinity of these camps.