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
30
m
Shrub Height
4
m
Field Height
4
m
Tree Cover
85
%
Shrub Cover
7
%
Field Cover
95
%
Nonvascular Cover
0.5
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
This site is located in the upper portion of a cove a short distance below a saddle on the crest of Clinch Mountain, at elevation 3920 ft. Underlying bedrock is the calcareous, red siltstone member of the Juniata Formation, which weathers into silty clay loams of very high fertility. The forest here is a fairly young, secondary mixed mesophytic stand that regenerated after logging probably a few decades ago. Most of the larger trees (Fraxinus americana, Aesculus flava, Prunus serotina) regenerated from coppice sprouts, while most of the smaller sub-canopy trees consist of single-stem Aesculus flava. There is virtually no shrub layer and the herb layer is a lush, continuous carpet of spring geophytes and other nutrient-demanding forbs. On the date of sampling, the ephemeral early-season species Phacelia fimbriata and Dicentra canadensis were abundant; small plants of Laportea canadensis were also abundant and indicate the later-season dominance of this species.