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
19
m
Shrub Height
6
m
Field Height
5
m
Tree Cover
80
%
Shrub Cover
75
%
Field Cover
55
%
Nonvascular Cover
3
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Plot documents a rocky, high-elevation oak forest on the crest of Potts Mountain just SW of the gap at Potts Pond. Stone and gravel from the underlying reddish sandstone are abundant in the upper soil horizons and locally exposed at the surface. The overstory is co-dominated by somewhat stunted northern red oak and white oak, both of which have excellent recruitment in the sub-canopy layers. American chestnut was probably an important tree on this site prior to the arrival of the blight, judging from the number of root-sprouts in and around the plot. The stand is rather shrubby, with moderately high cover of Rhododendron calendulaceum, V. erythrocarpum, Menziesia pilosa, and Hamamelis virginiana. A fair number of low-cover herbs are present where colonial shrubs are absent.
