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
27
m
Shrub Height
5
m
Field Height
8
m
Tree Cover
85
%
Shrub Cover
20
%
Field Cover
80
%
Nonvascular Cover
2
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
This plot is similar to both GWNF016 and GWNF029 from further south on Alleghany Mountain, but is situated at considerably higher elevation (1265 m, 4150 ft). The part of the stand on the West Virginia side of the crest is more representative than this Virginia-side sample, which is located at the boundary between old pastures now occupied by Prunus serotina, Crataegus spp., and Dennstaedtia punctilobula, and older oak-hickory forest with a lush herb layer of nutrient-demanding forbs. The only large tree in the plot is a massive (101 cm DBH) white ash which grew at the edge of the former pasture. The remainder of the stand is a much younger cohort of red oak, hickories, ash, and sugar maple that have recruited into the area more recently. Despite past land uses, there are few exotics present and the herb layer contains a lush assemblage of Laportea canadensis, Podophyllum peltatum, Cimicifuga racemosa, Impatiens pallida, etc.
