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
26
m
Shrub Height
6
m
Field Height
5
m
Tree Cover
75
%
Shrub Cover
60
%
Field Cover
60
%
Nonvascular Cover
1
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
The plot is located in a rather diverse oak/heath forest on a middle-elevation (3800 ft) spur ridge in the Iron Mountains, NE of Skulls Gap. Underlying bedrock is Erwin quartzite and soils are sandy are extremely infertile. The forest on this south-facing upper slope is a mixed, second-growth stand of Quercus montana and Q. rubra, with substantial Acer rubrum present in all age classes from saplings to canopy trees. The fairly dense shrub complex contains saplings of Amelanchier laevis, Castanea dentata, and Tsuga canadensis; and multi-tiered clones of Kalmia latifolia (dominant), Hamamelis virginiana, Leucothoe recurva, Smilax rotundifolia, Vaccinium corymbosum, and V. simulatum. Several low-cover herbs are present in openings among the shrubs.
0-2 cm matted leaf litter
2-6 cm organic matter / decaying leaf litter
6- 10 cm dark loam with organic matter and coarse sand
10+ yellow brown clay loam with coarse sand