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
90
%
Shrub Cover
50
%
Field Cover
15
%
Nonvascular Cover
1
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Like plot #24, this plot represents oak dominated forest which occurs in somewhat isolated patches on the warmer, nutrient poor, west and southwest facing slopes of the Middle Mountain west flank. In these stands, chestnut oak (Quercus montana), and red oak (Quercus rubra), share dominance, while ericaceous (heath family) shrubs such as mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) dominate depauperate lower layers. Oak-ericad communities where in which red oak is prevalent are generally limited to higher elevations of the ridge and valley province. This particular site was logged around the 1920, and the larger oaks and now are about 65-70 years old. A conspicuous charcoal layer in the duff, as well as scattered pitch pine (Pinus rigida) and big tooth aspen (Populus grandidentata) near the plot, indicates that the slope burned following logging. American chestnut (Castanea dentata), a major associate of the oaks prior to the affliction with the blight, persists in the form of small root sprouts. Future disturbance of this stand by gypsy moths can be expected as populations of this pest, recently arrived in the area, reached outbreak levels.
