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 Height
36
m
Shrub Height
6
m
Field Height
5
m
Tree Cover
75
%
Shrub Cover
45
%
Field Cover
4
%
Nonvascular Cover
25
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Plot location: steep slope along E side of Bartons Creek and Rt. 629, 1.43 km S of jct. with Rt. 686. Not permanently marked. Rock types present: quartzite and phyllite (?) fragments.
This site supports a mature forest with large Fagus grandifolia, Quercus spp., and Liriodendron tulipifera. Some individuals of Fagus approach 1.0 meter in diameter. The plot was sampled on a steep, infertile lower slope that has been subject to considerable past sheet-erosion, which provides micro-habitats for xerophytic herbs such as Antennaria plantaginifolia and Potentilla canadensis. Vegetation of similar composition, but with much greater herbaceous density, occurs on more mesic flats along Barton's Creek below the plot.