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
90
%
Shrub Cover
25
%
Field Cover
60
%
Nonvascular Cover
35
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Plot location: rocky slope at foot of High Point Mtn. cliffs, 0.34 km SSW of the summit. Marked with a metal tree tag. See form/report for sketch. Rock types present: quartzite debris. Microtopography is irregular and bouldery, at least in the upslope part.
This plot is located in an old-age forest stand that stretches for approximately 0.5 km along the extremely bouldery foot of the High Point Mountain cliffs. The southernmost part of this stand consists of nearly pure Quercus montana with a dense Kalmia latifolia shrub layer, but the diversity of overstory and understory species increases to the north, where this plot is situated. This is an uneven-age stand that apparently escaped cutting because of limited accessibility and the poor growth form of trees. Many individuals of Quercus montana, Quercus rubra, and Liriodendron tulipifera from 90 to 108 cm DBH were measured; although almost all of these massive specimens are hollow, extrapolation of partial increment cores indicate ages > 200 years (and possibly much older) for Quercus montana. Castanea dentata was an associate of this forest prior to the introduction of chestnut blight around 1915.
