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
21
m
Shrub Height
6
m
Field Height
25
m
Tree Cover
80
%
Shrub Cover
25
%
Field Cover
45
%
Nonvascular Cover
2
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Plot is one of three (see also JWNF036 and JWNF039) located in an extensive montane oak-hickory stand on the upper SE flank of Walker Mountain, both NE and SW of Rt. 738, at 3000 to 3700 ft elevation. Underlying bedrock is Silurian sandstone and perhaps some Juniata siltstone along the crest. Soils are dark sandy and silty acidic loams with moderate calcium content. The plots are within an area that Jesse Overcash (USFS) mapped as a stand with old-growth characteristics. Field investigation indicated that the larger-diameter, dominant oaks show evidence of having been open grown for parts of their life. These are associated with a younger cohort of oaks and hickories that evidently regenerated following the end of historical disturbances. The most likely explanation for this stand structure is that the site was used as summer range for livestock, a common practice in the region during the 19th and early 20th centuries. This plot is representative of drier slope convexities that support subxerophytic stands with graminoid-dominated herb layers. Species more characteristic of these stands include Vaccinium spp., Quercus montana, Carex pensylvanica, Calamagrostis porteri, Agrostis perennans, Danthonia spicata, and Festuca subverticillata. This particular site has good oak recruitment and abundant hickory recruitment, and lacks mesophytic understory trees such as Acer rubrum that are indicative of oak decline.
