Up river ca. 10 miles is the town of Belington. Both gorge slopes above the river appear to be mostly Oak-Hickory (there is a logging operation in progress on River right). There is a railroad grade on river right. Seldom used except for the Tygart Valley Flier tourist train.;Open shrubland prairie growing along a high velocity section of the Tygart River. The plot is mostly open rock cover with boulders and rocks ranging from the size of basketballs to cars. The area appears to undergo frequent flooding multiple times per year. Most of the flotsom is on rocks above the mean elevation of the plot. There is an old john boat smashed in a pole of flotsam just off the plot.
Representativeness
Small patch of boulder pile Sycamore/Indian hemp shrubland prairie. Similar to prairies sampled at Arden, NERI, Cheat and GARI. Only here there is less diversity and heavy cover of Apocynum. The water here is much clearer than the Bluegreen of Arden wh
Overall Taxon Cover Values are Automatically Calculated?
no
Plot Quality Fields:
Plot Validation Level
(2) classification plot: sufficient for inclusion in a classification revision
Floristic Quality
complete
Bryophyte Quality
complete (species >=1% cover)
Overall Plot Vegetation Fields:
--no data--
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Platanus occidentalis / Apocynum cannabinum - Andropogon gerardii riverscour prairie; There are 2 major tribs which enter the Tygart in the "gorge" The Middle Fork and the Buckhannon.
