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 Height
30
m
Shrub Height
5
m
Field Height
6
m
Tree Cover
90
%
Shrub Cover
40
%
Field Cover
6
%
Nonvascular Cover
80
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
This plot is located on a massive, eroded-in-place migmatite outcrop the caps one of the highest points on the extensive terrace along the Potomac River north of Black Pond. The outcrop lies approximately 15 m in elevation above mean water level in the Potomac, and is probably scoured in rare catastrophic floods. Numerous crevices support a mixed forest of Acer saccharum, Quercus montana, Tilia americana, Fraxinus americana, and Carya cordiformis, with Staphylea trifolia, Ostrya virginiana, and Asimina triloba most abundant in the shrub layer. Herb cover is rather sparse due to the limited accumulations of soil and organic matter in cracks, crevices, and on ledges.