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
0
m
Tree Cover
90
%
Shrub Cover
45
%
Field Cover
90
%
Nonvascular Cover
1
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Plot location: ravine on east side of Rt. 629, 1.35 km NE of White Rock Spring. Not permanently marked. Rock types present: quartzite boulders.
The plot is located in a narrow, lower-slope ravine supporting a luxuriant mesophytic forest dominated by tall Liriodendron tulipifera. A narrow, elongate plot configuration (10 X 40 m) was employed to position the sampling area on one slope of the ravine and avoid incorporating drier, upslope habitat. Fertile, loamy soil with relatively high Ca, Mg, and total base saturation, supports a lush herbaceous flora dominated by Adiantum pedatum, Amphicarpaea bracteata, Actaea racemosa, Deparia acrostichoides, and Phegopteris hexagonoptera. Although quartzite boulders were observed in the area, the base status and relatively high silt content of these soils appear to be derived from the phyllite member of the Weaverton formation.