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
18
m
Shrub Height
6
m
Field Height
5
m
Tree Cover
85
%
Shrub Cover
85
%
Field Cover
40
%
Nonvascular Cover
2
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
At this site, the Appalachian Trail follows the crest of a xeric, narrow, spur ridge on acidic shale. Vegetation of the plot is characteristic, with a somewhat stunted canopy of old, dominant Quercus montana and younger, scattered Quercus coccinea and Pinus pungens. A single large Nyssa sylvatica occurs in the overstory of the plot. All the old hardwoods have basal fire scars, but the site does not appear to have burned recently. There is some oak recruitment in the stand, although greatly outnumbered by sapling Acer rubrum and Nyssa sylvatica. Ericaceous diversity and density are high, with Oxydendrum arboreum common in the sub-canopy, Leucothoe recurva and Gaylussacia baccata abundant in the shrub layer, and Kalmia latifolia, Rhododendron maximum, Vaccinium pallidum, and V. stamineum also present in significant numbers.
