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
16
m
Shrub Height
4
m
Field Height
1
m
Tree Cover
80
%
Shrub Cover
30
%
Field Cover
70
%
Nonvascular Cover
5
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
This open, deciduous woodland is located just above a very open mafic outcrop barren on a steep, convex, south facing slope of Buck's Elbow Mountain. Bedrock is mis-mapped as the metasedimentary Swift Run Formation; exposed rock at the site is metabasalt of the Catoctin Formation. The stunted trees, primarily Carya spp. and Fraxinus americana, grow in rocky soil with many stones exposed on the surface. Overall species-richness is quite high (82 taxa), and herbaceous density will likely increase as the growing season progresses. The plot was sampled in the spring and will include species not apparent in other plots of this type, which have typically been sampled in late summer.