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
15
m
Shrub Height
3
m
Field Height
1
m
Tree Cover
75
%
Shrub Cover
80
%
Field Cover
10
%
Nonvascular Cover
40
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
This plot documents a northern red oak forest with dense, evergreen Rhododendron shrub layer covering ca. 3.5 ha (8.5 acres). It occupies a steep, very rocky, north-facing upper slope below Comers Rock, at 3600 to 4050 ft elevation. The site has extensive, weathered boulder talus from upslope outcrops of Unicoi Formation sandstone. Soils collected from plot were extremely acidic and infertile. The stand appears to be medium-aged, with the larger trees ca. 50 cm DBH. Quercus rubra is the leading canopy dominant, with Quercus montana and Betula lenta also important. Betula lenta greatly dominates the sub-canopy; a few oaks, Amelanchier laevis, Magnolia fraseri, and Acer rubrum are also present. Although some oak recruitment is present, it is greatly outnumbered by that of birch, and the stand is clearly undergoing a compositional transition to co-dominance by birch and oak. The shrub layer is dense and dominated by Rhododendron catawbiense, with scattered Acer pensylvanicum, Ilex montana, Hamamelis virginiana, Clethra acuminata, Leucothoe recurva, Vaccinium erythrocarpum, and Vaccinium simulatum in mixture. Except for Galax urceloata, which forms locally dense patches, herbs are rather sparse under the shrubs. Small openings provide better habitat for Maianthemum canadense, Oclemena acuminata, Osmunda cinnamomea, Medeola virginiana, Goodyera pubescens, and Uvularia puberula. Colonies of Polypodium appalachianum grow on large boulders, among umbilicate lichens.
