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
70
%
Shrub Cover
70
%
Field Cover
50
%
Nonvascular Cover
75
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
A high elevation greenstone boulderfield on the north face of the highest mountain in the northern Virginia Blue Ridge. There is an environmental/vegetational continuum here between open boulderfields supporting only lichens and perhaps a few herbaceous plants to forested, weathered boulderfields with gnarled trees and moss/humus accumulations supporting a somewhat greater array of herbaceous species. The plot is more representative of the latter end of the gradient. Even here, however, the bouldery substrate greatly limits species richness (n=23), and dominant trees of Betula allegheniensis and Sorbus americana are quite stunted and much damaged from the repeated ravages by wind and ice. Underlying parent material is probably metasedimentary (Swift Run) member, but habitat covered by metabasalt boulders.
Plot location: Shenandoah NP. Just south (upslope) of the Appalachian Trail, ca. 0.4 mi. west of Hawksbill Gap and just east of the first open talus field crossed by the Trail west of the Gap.
