Ice Mountain is currently protected as a Preserve by The Nature Conservancy. There is a trail that parallels the plot located just downhill. Below that is river. Uphill vascular vegetation becomes sparser and quickly grades to lichen dominated talus.;Site is a globally unique geological formation with buried ice under a talus slope which vents cold air at the base. This has resulted in the persisitence of plants typically found only at higher elevations or more northern latitudes. The vegetation affected by the ice vents is a coniferous forest or woodland with a well developed short shrub layer and luxurious ground cover by bryophytes. The vegetation of the plot is a woodland dominated by a tall canopy of Pinus strobus over a subcanopy of Pinus strobus, Tsuga canadensis, and Betula lenta. The tall shrub layer is sparse and is composed of saplings of the tree species and some Rhododendron maximum. The short shrub layer has higher cover and is dominated by Vaccinium myrtilloides, Menziesia pilosa, and Ribes glandulosum. The herb layer is dominated by ferns including a Polypodium virginianum, Gymnocarpium appalachianum, Drypoteris intermedia, and Dryopteris marginalis. The herb layer is also characterized by species usually found at higher elevations or latitudes including Cornus canadensis, Maianthemum canadense, and Linnaea borealis. There is high ground cover by bryophytes dominated by the liverwort Bazzania trilobata, and the mosses Leucobryum glaucum, Sphagnum capillifolium, Hypnum inponens, and Pleurozium schreberi. Additional bryophytes include the mosses Polytrichum pallidisetum, Dicranum scoparium, Dicranum muehlenbeckii, Brotherella recurvans, and the liverwort Barbilophozia attenuata (only known WV collection).
Representativeness
Permanent plot was established in 2002 to monitor vegetation around ice vents. Plot covers most of the area where rare plants are located just up hill from trail. Permanent plot is composed of ten 10x10 m quadrants, but this plot record averages the 2002
