The plot is located along the Gauley river at Rooster Tail rapids. Much of this side of the river is privatley owned. Jim and I have a couple of plots downstream from here ca. 1/2 mile. 1 floodplain forest, 1 riverside shrubland, and 1 upland. There are several camps along the river here.;Frequently flooded shrubland/woodland prairie community along rapid section of river. There is a short bent overstory of Sycamore and River Birch. The openness of the community suggests periodic flooding. All trees and shrubs are bent downstream. Today the river is flowing muddy brown. Usually it flows clear. Celeste also says the plot has a "wet dog' odor to it. We have had several local downpours washing lots of sediment into the Gauley from upland logging and development.
Representativeness
Small patch of PLOC-BENI/ANGE shrubland on colluvial boulders along rapid section of the Gauley. Plot was placed to sample open rocky photo signature. Similar to other riverside boulder shrubland/woodland plots sampled at GARI.