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
400
m²
Plot Quality Fields:
Plot Validation Level
(2) classification plot: sufficient for inclusion in a classification revision
Overall Plot Vegetation Fields:
Tree Cover
50
%
Shrub Cover
90
%
Field Cover
15
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
This habitat is a steep, north facing, bluff-like slope along the Hyco River. Soils here are sandy and infertile, providing ideal conditions for a nearly continuous thicket of Kalmia latifolia. Trees growing on the bluff are above average in size, but frequent windthrows have created a rather open canopy condition. This community is similar to Schafale and Weakley's (1990) Piedmont/Coastal Plain Heath Bluff natural community type.