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
Shrub Height
6
m
Field Height
1
m
Tree Cover
80
%
Shrub Cover
70
%
Field Cover
7
%
Nonvascular Cover
1
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
This plot is located in a 4 hectare stand of white pine and hardwoods on a west-facing slope and ridge. This is the most mature and least disturbed of several similar stands occurring in the Ragged Mountain Natural Area. Most of the patch is quite dry and Quercus montana, Quercus alba, and Quercus velutina, some of which are quite old, are the principal hardwoods. On the lower slope at the western edge of the stand, Quercus rubra and Liriodendron become important as soil moisture ostensibly increases. The plot is positioned near the transition zone between these variants. The overall vegetation of this area is much less species-rich than most other parts of the Natural Area, and Kalmia latifolia forms dense thickets. There is little or no recruitment of oaks in this stand, and only moderate recruitment of Pinus strobus; Liriodendron tulipifera, Nyssa sylvatica, and Acer rubrum are the principal understory trees. It appears that Pinus strobus initially increased in this area following logging many decades ago, but has been overtaken by the mesophytic hardwoods in recent decades.
