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
32
m
Shrub Height
6
m
Field Height
5
m
Tree Cover
85
%
Shrub Cover
10
%
Field Cover
40
%
Nonvascular Cover
2
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Plot location: ravine slope 120 m east of Catletts Branch, 1.61 km S of Hopewell Gap. Not permanently marked. Rock types present: phyllite boulders and fragments.
The dry-mesic forest vegetation in this plot had the highest species richness (n = 88) among all 72 plots sampled in the Bull Run Mountains. The overstory is dominated by Carya ovalis, Quercus rubra, Quercus alba, and Liriodendron tulipifera, with Acer rubrum abundant in the understory. Shrubs are sparse, while much of the plot's richness is contributed by a patchy but diverse herbaceous flora. Although strongly acidic, soil samples from this site had relatively high Ca and Mg levels, which may explain the prominence of basic-soil plants such as Erigeron pulchellus var. pulchellus and Muhlenbergia sobolifera.