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
5
m
Tree Cover
80
%
Shrub Cover
70
%
Field Cover
4
%
Nonvascular Cover
1
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
This plot is representative of dry oak / heath vegetation that occupies a small upland ridge well away from the Potomac River. Growing conditions on this west-facing upper slope are distinctly xeric, and soil samples collected here have exceedingly low base cation levels. Moderate to dense shrub colonies of Kalmia latifolia are characteristic of the stand, which is co-dominated by a mixture of Quercus coccinea, Quercus velutina, Quercus alba, and Quercus montana. Fire has undoubtedly been an important ecological factor at this site in the past. However, the prevalence of mesophytic trees (Acer rubrum, Nyssa sylvatica, Fagus grandifolia, Asimina triloba) in the understory indicates that fire has been absent for at least several decades.