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
30
m
Shrub Height
6
m
Field Height
5
m
Tree Cover
80
%
Shrub Cover
10
%
Field Cover
90
%
Nonvascular Cover
1
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Plot location: north end of High Point Mtn., 0.94 km SW of Hopewell Gap. Marked with a metal tree tag. See form/report for sketch.
Rock types present: quartzite debris.
This plot occupies a north-facing upper slope at the northern terminus of High Point Mountain, where this ridge begins to drop off into a deep ravine system. The current forest overstory of Quercus montana, Quercus rubra, and Liriodendron tulipifera may have succeeded a mixed oak-Castanea dentata stand following logging and chestnut blight. The herb layer is dominated by a huge clone of Aralia nudicaulis but contains many additional herbaceous species. NOTE: an historical plat on file at the VOF Aldie office indicates that, in 1820, this site was at the upslope edge of a field. A 1939 plat of the same area shows the whole slope as "woods". Evidently this area was cleared during the 18th century, and probably abandoned either during or before the Civil War, or around the turn of the century.