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
33
m
Shrub Height
6
m
Field Height
7
m
Tree Cover
90
%
Shrub Cover
12
%
Field Cover
25
%
Nonvascular Cover
0.5
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Plot location: slope just south of powerline right of way on east flank High Point Mtn., 0.60 km NE of the summit. Marked with a metal tree tag. See form/report for sketch. No surface rocks present; an old flagstone quarry is located a short distance upslope.
This second-growth oak-hickory forest is associated with soils weathered from the flaggy quartzite / muscovite schist / phyllite lithologic suite, which underlies much of the eastern flank of High Point Mountain. Carya ovalis shares overstory dominance with several Quercus spp. and Liriodendron tulipifera, while Carya tomentosa dominates the understory. This plot has impressive species-richness for the Bull Run Mountain area, in large part because of a patchy but diverse cover of herbaceous species. Cornus florida, formerly a dominant small tree/shrub, has been recently devastated by the introduced fungal pathogen, dogwood anthracnose. The following plants were damaged by herbivory: Amphicarpaea bracteata, Symphyotrichum lateriflorum, Carex laxiflora, Actaea racemosa, Cornus florida, Hylodesmum nudiflorum, Galium triflorum, Lindera benzoin, and Polygonatum biflorum var. biflorum.