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
1
m
Tree Cover
60
%
Shrub Cover
30
%
Field Cover
70
%
Nonvascular Cover
15
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Soils here are apparently shallow to talc-rich bedrock, and growing conditions are stressful due to low levels of available nutrients and possibly high levels of magnesium (similar in this regard to serpentine soil). The shallow soils and steep slope are the result of erosional processes from Chestnut Creek, which flows against the base of the slope. The unusual woodland vegetation is restricted to the undercut slope. Other slopes not undercut by the creek support ordinary forest vegetation, presumably because soils are deeper and the effects and influences of the underlying bedrock are less pronounced.
Pinus strobus in plot range from 15 to 35 cm dbh. Parnassia grandifolia and Rhododendron maximum located outside the plot.
Plot situated at the upper slope of the hill, where Sanguisorba canadensis grows.