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
28
m
Shrub Height
6
m
Field Height
5
m
Tree Cover
80
%
Shrub Cover
70
%
Field Cover
25
%
Nonvascular Cover
20
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Much of the steep, rocky, upper west flank of Big Cobbler Mountain supports a mosaic of old-age chestnut oak forest and similar-age boulderfield woodlands, both of which escaped logging due to inaccessibility and the poor form of the hollow and somewhat gnarled trees. A few gentle convexities with deeper soils support fairly mature, uneven-aged oak-hickory stands with moderate herb diversity and cover. This plot represents this type of forest. It is relatively mature but was probably cut selectively many decades ago. Remarkably, the sampled stand lacks Acer rubrum, and recruitment of oak and hickory is vigorous. A very large chestnut oak 107 cm DBH is located just upslope from the plot in a bouldery area.