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 Cover
70
%
Shrub Cover
70
%
Field Cover
50
%
Nonvascular Cover
15
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
A Quercus alba-Quercus coccinea-mixed yellow pine- mixed heath-dominated, oligotrophic relatively young forest (100-130 yr old), regenerated after fire and probably logging, though there is no overt evidence of the latter. This is a floristically consistent community on low elevation, submesic, level to gentle to moderately sloping acid soils, especially over shale (all formations). Variation in vegetation with aspect is not pronounced on this gentle terrain, but a few elements of this plot are more or less differential to north aspects: Pinus strobus tends to be more abundant on northerly aspects (and valley bottoms and stream terraces, some of which sites have been planted) and present at this elevation is Convallaria montana. Quercus montana varies in importance from more or less absent on sublevel terraces and bottoms to important associate on moderate slopes. This vegetation is especially abundant in the less incised southern block of shale hills in the study area. The importance of pine in this community is either fire-dependent, a post-logging successional feature, or both.
Plot located ca. 0.2 mi WSW of crest of Linton Ridge, in oak-pine/heath forest, ca. 150 ft ENE of FR 350 (aka "Sweet Road.")