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
7
m
Tree Cover
75
%
Shrub Cover
70
%
Field Cover
60
%
Nonvascular Cover
0.5
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
This plot captures part of the same white oak - hickory stand as GFNP043, and is located about 200 m to the southeast on the same slope along Difficult Run. Here, recent fire scars and charred wood fragments are evident, and the vegetation is more scrubby with root-sprouted regeneration of both saplings and shrubs. Compared to GFNP043, the herb layer is more dominated by forbs and woody seedlings/sprouts. Species richness is similarly high and the stand is not heavily impacted by either deer grazing or exotics. The plot is located in an area where acidic, metasedimentary rocks of the Mather Gorge Formation are intruded by dikes of amphibolite and granite. Although the base status of soil samples is very low, the vegetation and flora suggest some affinities to vegetation occurring on more basic upland soils.