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
11.5
m
Tree Cover
50
%
Shrub Cover
35
%
Field Cover
70
%
Nonvascular Cover
30
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
The plot documents a dry, grassy woodland associated with large greenstone ledges and outcrops. Soils here are very rocky but high in Ca and Mg. A very open canopy of stunted trees consists largely of Fraxinus americana, with Carya glabra second in importance. Small trees and shrubs such as Cercis canadensis var. canadensis, Ostrya virginiana, and Rhus aromatica form scattered patches. Many xerophytic herbs occur at low cover in a matrix of dominant graminoids: Carex pensylvanica, Danthonia spicata, Dichanthelium linearifolium, and Elymus hystrix var. hystrix. The annual forb Hedeoma pulegioides is abundant on thin-soiled ledges.
Plot location: On steep, rocky slope ca. 100m downslope (W) of Dickey Ridge Picnic Area loop road.