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
35
m
Shrub Height
5
m
Field Height
8
m
Tree Cover
80
%
Shrub Cover
75
%
Field Cover
85
%
Nonvascular Cover
8
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
This plot captures a lush mesophytic hardwood forest on the lower slope of a steep, narrow ravine that cuts through the bluffs along the Potomac River. Large colonies of Trillium sessile, Caulophyllum thalictroides, Claytonia virginica, and other nutrient-demanding spring ephemerals thrive in the calcium-rich colluvial soils under mixed tree layers of Liriodendron tulipifera, Fraxinus americana, Acer saccharum, Tilia americana, and Fagus grandifolia. A hiking trail traverses the bottom of the ravine and serves as a vector for the spread of exotic weeds such as Veronica hederifolia.