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:
Field Height
10
m
Tree Cover
50
%
Shrub Cover
15
%
Field Cover
15
%
Nonvascular Cover
50
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
A presumed successional community of boulder talus. Betula lenta and Ribes rotundifolia are constant characteristic species. This community grades into Quercus montana and/or Quercus rubra dominated forests and woodlands on boulder talus. The occurrence of this community versus the oak dominated community appears correlated with steeper sloping talus, where higher erosion and substrate instability likely inhibits pioneering by woody species, and slows succession. The prominence here of Acer rubrum is not characteristic of this community generally.
Plot located 1.5 mi NNW of Morning Knob, just off FR 175 on crest of Peters Mountain, on upper west slope in open, very bouldery Betula lenta woodland more or less opposite pull-off just before or northeast of place where road jogs around a bouldery depression on crest of mountain.
Oi: 5-10 cm of undecomposed leaves; 3-6 cm of partially decomposed leaves
Oe: 3-5 cm of unrecognizable organic matter; root-rich
Oa: 0.5-1 cm of blackish-gray organic matter with fine sandy component
R: avg. depth of 0-15 cm