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
100
m²
Plot Quality Fields:
Plot Validation Level
(2) classification plot: sufficient for inclusion in a classification revision
Overall Plot Vegetation Fields:
Shrub Height
3
m
Field Height
8
m
Shrub Cover
5
%
Field Cover
70
%
Nonvascular Cover
45
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Just below the ridgecrest of Sinking Creek Mountain is a very small bedrock pavement barren. Above and below, graminoid (mostly Deschampsia flexuosa) cover is nearly 100%, but in this narrow zone (not much wider than the plot) sandstone pavement is exposed and graminoid cover is interrupted by moss, rosettes of Saxifraga michauxii and bare rock. Moss mats evidently store moisture and retard evaporation, and shallow soil prevents downward movement. Hence soil moisture, at least where mineral soil accumulates, is higher than soil texture and aspect alone would suggest. Plot was sampled two days after extreme storm event (remnants of Hurricane Jeanne) that dropped up to a foot of rain in western Virginia. Pinus rigida individuals on this barren have lost or are losing apical dominance; chronic wind and ice stress undoubtedly influence their architecture. Most Quercus montana trees have arisen as multiple basal sprouts.
