These "islands" of richness seem to be found above and below these calcareous shale bands throughout the study area. Above the cliff band here the community seems slightly more sterile represented by Quercus prinus / Carya spp. Below the plot the forest seems to transition more towards mixed-meso represented by Acer saccharum - Acer nigrum.;The soils here are deep with fire scarring on old downfall within the plot. The overall stand age however seems rather young. There is a thin band of calcareous shale exposed here. This most likely explains the spike in plant diversity.
Representativeness
This plot is representative of the ecotone between the mixed-meso and the dry oak communities found here at Bluestone. It shows how quickly the communities change due to the influence of geology. This is a typical transition here within these large patch