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
12
m
Shrub Height
6
m
Field Height
5
m
Tree Cover
75
%
Shrub Cover
30
%
Field Cover
25
%
Nonvascular Cover
55
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Plot location: summit of Pond Mountains, 1.03 km S of Thoroughfare Gap. Not permanently marked. Rock types present: massive quartzite outcrops and boulders. Microtopography is irregular, craggy, and bouldery.
An elongate (10 X 40 m) plot configuration was employed to limit sampling to homogenous vegetation occupying this narrow convex ridge top of Pond Mountain (historically known as "Biscuit Mountain"). Huge, quartzite outcrops and weathered-in-place boulders limit the development of soil to local microhabitats. The forest growth here consists almost entirely of stunted (ca. 12 m tall) and gnarled Quercus montana. Shrubs are also constrained by the rocky substrate, but a surprising number of herbaceous species grown on moss mats and thin-soiled ledges. This vegetation might be considered a variant of the larger-statured boulderfield forests which occupy the upper west slope of this ridge just below the plot.