Data collected "to describe and characterize plant associations (plant community types) that are dominated by herbaceous or dwarf-shrub vegetation and that occur in low elevation and mid-montane western Washington on dry, relatively shallow-soiled slopes (balds) and on coastal headlands and bluffs." Agency Files (Washington Department of Natural Resources, Natural Heritage Program)
From Chappell 2006a: "Sampled stands of vegetation were dominated or co-dominated by native species. Most plots were placed subjectively to best represent the composition of relatively homogeneous stands of vegetation. Balds are often quite heterogeneous in terms of vegetation on a relatively small scale, i.e., they have many small patches in a mosaic. Sampling such a mosaic can be challenging. Our plots often included small inclusions of other “communities” within them, especially rock outcrops, which are nearly ubiquitous in many bald vegetation types.
Plots were circular or rectangular macroplots 25 to 400 m2 in size (majority were 42 m2). The location of each plot was determined using aerial photographs and/or topographic maps and entered as a point into a Geographic Information System. Most data were collected between mid-May and early July during the years 1992-2003.
