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
7
m
Shrub Height
6
m
Field Height
1
m
Tree Cover
10
%
Shrub Cover
40
%
Field Cover
20
%
Nonvascular Cover
60
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Plot is located on one of several exfoliating granitic outcrops on the upper west flank of Woods Mountain in The Nature Conservancy's Fortunes Cove Preserve. Compared to plot NELS003, which is on another outcrop 0.4 km to the north, the habitat is even more xeric and the vegetation somewhat less diverse. This sample was positioned to capture both a portion of a large open rock face with sparse vascular plants and an adjacent area with some soil accumulation that supports a very scrubby woodland of Pinus virginiana and Quercus montana. The most conspicuous plants of the open rock are the lithophytic forbs Hypericum gentianoides and Talinum teretifolium, while the grasses Schizachyrium scoparium and Danthonia spicata dominate the herb layer wherever superficial veneers of soil are present.
Several pine and oak snags present (drought-killed?). The exotic dayflower Commelina communis is present in moderate numbers on the dry rock faces, to which it has adapted well.