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
12
m
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Plot location: 0.26 km SW of the summit of Halls Point.
Rock Types Present: large metabasalt outcrops and debris.
The plot is located in a steep, ledgey, very open woodland/barrens complex. Massive greenstone breccia outcrops and a hot, westerly exposure combine to limit the establishment of, and stunt the growth of, woody plants. The vegetation is dominated by a thin stand of Fraxinus americana, Carya glabra, Juniperus virginiana var. virginiana, and Pinus virginiana. Chionanthus virginiana is the most characteristic shrub. Where sufficient soil mats have formed, herbaceous cover is dense and dominated by graminoids such as Danthonia spicata, Carex pensylvanica, and Muhlenbergia sobolifera. An ephemeral abundance of Erythronium americanum in late winter/spring is a peculiar feature of this very rocky woodland.
Ephemeral seepage/subsurface water present locally in plot.