Occurrence is on a steep S-facing slope overlooking a wide valley floor with large agricultural fields and a few farm houses and buildings. There is a large stream passing close to the base of the slope. Upslope to the north there is a gradual transition to a mixed hardwood (oak-hickory) forest with less of a slope. Transition to the east is abrupt to the mixed hardwood as the aspect changes over a ridge. To the west, hardwoods begin to dominate, but the ground vegetation is still shale-barren type.;Pine cover is homogenous and seems low because of the steep slope. Ground cover is sparse and runs along several small shale outcrops and large tree roots. About 100 feet. to the east of the plot is a very shallow but steep ravine of almost exclusively loose shale fragments that have come loose and have shifted.
Representativeness
The plot is fairly representative of the majority of the shale barren. To the east is less tree cover but the same species are present on the ground, although they are not as abundant. There were two individual Erigonum alleni plants on the site but not
