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
Plot Quality Fields:
Plot Validation Level
(2) classification plot: sufficient for inclusion in a classification revision
Overall Plot Vegetation Fields:
Tree Height
28
m
Shrub Height
6
m
Field Height
8
m
Tree Cover
80
%
Shrub Cover
45
%
Field Cover
65
%
Nonvascular Cover
2
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Plot location: near summit of ridge ca. 25 meters S. of Willis River Road and 0.1 miles NW of bridge over river.
Plot is representative of a small but significant stand of dry Piedmont oak-hickory forest on a mafic substrate. Bedrock here is coarse-grained Triassic diabase exposed in scattered sphaeroidal boulders, some of them quite large. Soils are clay-rich, probably with a hardpan subsoil, and have extraordinarily high calcium and magnesium content. Covering 15-20 acres, this stand is notably species rich and contains a number of plants characteristic of soils with high base status: Aster concinnus, Blephilia ciliata, Salvia urticifolia, Polygala senega, Triosteum angustifolium, Solidago ulmifolia and Ruellia purshiana. This plot is part of the same stand as plot CUSF001, and both are superb representatives of species-rich oak-hickory forests of basic soils in the southern Piedmont.