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
13
m
Shrub Height
6
m
Field Height
1
m
Tree Cover
50
%
Shrub Cover
50
%
Field Cover
40
%
Nonvascular Cover
60
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
This plot is situated on a 4-acre woodland/barren complex at the southern end of Bald Mountain, on a convex, south-facing slope above Barbours Creek. The substrate here consists of moderately sloping, south-facing pavements, outcrops, and thin soils over acidic sandstone (Rose Hill-Keefer-Tuscarora complex). The habitat is distinctly xeric and represents a localized outcrop area on an otherwise normally wooded slope. Although a former clear-cut (now reforested) is located just to the west, no evidence of disturbance was noted on the barren. Vegetation is a xerophytic mixed woodland of Pinus virginiana and Juniperus virginiana, with hardwood associates of Quercus montana, Quercu stellata, and Carya glabra occurring in smaller numbers. True shrubs are sparse but include scattered Chionanthus virginicus, Crataegus sp., Rosa carolina, and Vaccinium pallidum. Herbs are patchy, with concentrations in humus-filled crevices and flatter areas of thin soil deposition. Schizachyrium scoparium, Carex pensylvanica, and Danthonia spicata are the most abundant herbs in soil substrates, while Hypericum gentianoides is abundant in lichen and moss mats on the exposed sandstone pavements. Other noteworthy low-cover herbs include Allium cernuum, Dichanthelium depauperatum, Arabis laevigata, Helianthus divaricatus, Trichostema setaceum, Talinum teretifolium, Symphyotrichum patens, Sedum glaucophyllum, Paronychia montana, and Selaginella rupestris. Approximately 60% of the ground surface in this community is covered by lichens and mosses, the most abundant of which are Cladonia spp.
