Releve Virginia Division of Natural Heritage, see http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural_heritage/documents/nh_plotform_instructions.pdf
Overall Taxon Cover Values are Automatically Calculated?
no
Stem Observation Area
400
m²
Plot Quality Fields:
Plot Validation Level
(2) classification plot: sufficient for inclusion in a classification revision
Overall Plot Vegetation Fields:
Tree Cover
40
%
Shrub Cover
50
%
Field Cover
5
%
Nonvascular Cover
35
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
The spur ridges of the east side of Flat Top Mountain support the northernmost stands of Tsuga caroliniana forest (Ramsey, G.W. 1994. Plant diversity survey of the Peaks of Otter Backcountry Area, Blue Ridge Parkway, Virginia. Unpubl. rep.). These stands are restricted to highly stressed, exposed sites, where xeric conditions, high solar irradiance, and extremely thin soils limit species richness and vegetation stature. Abundant large charnockite boulders create treacherous conditions and considerable microtopographic and microedaphic variation and hinder plot design and layout. A sheer drop of ca. 10 m prevented sampling on the north side of the ridge, and surveying was not complete on the south side. The long axis of the plot was laid out along the ridgeline and perpendicular tapes were allowed to dangle over edge for 1-2 m; a square plot was impossible, and even with the design adopted, area only approximates 400 sq. m. After plot location was determined from GPS data, it became evident that plot lay upslope from the Tsuga caroliniana stand that Ramsey (1994) mapped along this ridge. The central portion of the stand might be reached more easily from the bottom than from the summit of Flat Top Mountain.
