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
25
m
Shrub Height
6
m
Field Height
5
m
Tree Cover
85
%
Shrub Cover
80
%
Field Cover
4
%
Nonvascular Cover
1
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
The plot captures a mature stand of oaks on the north-facing slope of a saddle off the Blue Ridge Parkway, south of Apple Orchard Mountain. The boundary between Park Service land and the George Washington & Jefferson National Forest runs through the plot. Aerial photographs indicate that this stand is extensive on the north and northwest flanks of the ridge. Quercus rubra (60 to 80 cm DBH) is dominant throughout, with scattered Quercus alba also present. The subcanopy is dominated by Betula lenta, and oak recruitment is essentially lacking. A moderately dense to dense shrub layer of Rhododendron catawbiense with some Kalmia latifolia, Ilex montana, and Hamamelis virginiana is characteristic. A surprising diversity of herbs occupies small openings in the shrub cover, although none attains 1% cover over the plot. On the south side of the ridge,more xerophytic forest vegetation dominated by Quercus montana and Rhododendron catawbiense occurs. Montane oak-hickory forests occupies deeper soils in the saddle and on the crest.
