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
33
m
Tree Cover
70
%
Shrub Cover
30
%
Field Cover
50
%
Nonvascular Cover
20
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
This plot documents a very diverse, middle-elevation oak-hickory forest on basic soils weathered from Catoctin greenstone. Fraxinus americana, Ostrya virginiana, and Cercis canadensis var. canadensis are characteristic understory species. A number of weedy and exotic species, including Acer negundo, Microstegium vimineum, and Symphoricarpos orbiculatus, occur here and may have spread from clearings at the top of Dickey Hill, aided by canopy gaps from gypsy moth-related tree mortality over the last ten years.
Plot location: ca. 50m E of Dickey Hill Trail at a point 0.3 mi. S of Dickey Hill summit and radio tower.