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
10
m
Shrub Height
6
m
Field Height
1
m
Tree Cover
75
%
Shrub Cover
55
%
Field Cover
60
%
Nonvascular Cover
10
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
An extensive, Quercus rubra-dominated forest occupies the high-elevation crest and upper slopes of the Great North Mountain ridge NE of Elliott Knob. This plot documents the drier variant of the stand, which occurs on more convex topography and westerly aspects (see also GDNF010 for the more mesic variant). The dominant red oaks are extremely stunted, wind-blasted, and gnarled. The lower layers of the forest contain a variety of shrubs, forbs, and grasses. Crataegus macrosperma was formerly abundant in the shrub layer, but has recently been subject to a major die-off. Much of the Great North Mountain crest area was probably impacted by livestock grazing, fire, and other disturbances in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Chestnut sprouts are common, attesting to that species former importance on the site.
