The upland slopes on both sides appear to be covered by an Oak-Hickory forest. Upriver ca. 0.25 miles is the mouth of Teter Creek. Upriver ca. 3 miles is the town of Arden. Downriver ca. 0.5 miles is the Tygart Reservior. This area is much less disturbed than the flat rock we sampled upriver. No road noise so it feels quite isolated. The river is roughly 20 m S from plot center between this flat rock plot and the river is a boulder pile community that is higher in elevation and covered by woody species. The community type is Sycamore woodland.;Large flat sandstone bedrock shelf subject to frequent high energy flooding. The community is dominated by graminoids and herbs. There are several fissures in the bedrock running towards the river. These cracks is where the "soil" accumulates so the plants in the plot grow in lines along the fissures. The river here is a strange blue-green coppery color, likely a result of either acid mine drainage or agricultural run off, maybe both.
Representativeness
Large patch of riverside prairie on a large flat rock, possibly the nicest expression I've seen. Similar to community sampled upstream. Only here there is little human trampling. Also similar to communities sampled at NERI and GARI. I sampled upstream
Overall Taxon Cover Values are Automatically Calculated?
no
Plot Quality Fields:
Plot Validation Level
(2) classification plot: sufficient for inclusion in a classification revision
Floristic Quality
complete
Bryophyte Quality
complete (species >=1% cover)
Overall Plot Vegetation Fields:
--no data--
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Platanus occidentalis / Andropogon gerardii - Solidago simplex riverscour prairie; There is an old railgrade which follows the toeslope above the river. Maybe spring/summer bloomers like Marshallia missed?