Ecological site F128XY516WV

Tree	(1) Quercus montana (2) Quercus rubra
Shrub	(1) Vaccinium
Herbaceous	Not specified

Landforms	(1) Fan (2) Ridge (3) Interfluve
Flooding duration	Very brief (4 to 48 hours)
Flooding frequency	Frequent
Elevation	499 – 4116 ft
Slope	2 – 55 %
Water table depth	24 – 48 in
Aspect	N, S

Frost-free period (average)	150 days
Freeze-free period (average)	180 days
Precipitation total (average)	40 in

Parent material	(1) Residuum – dolomite (2) Alluvium – limestone and sandstone (3) Colluvium – limestone and shale
Surface texture	(1) Cobbly fine sandy loam (2) Gravelly loam (3) Sandy loam
Drainage class	Moderately well drained to well drained
Permeability class	Slow to rapid
Soil depth	18 – 80 in
Surface fragment cover <=3"	0 – 3 %
Surface fragment cover >3"	0 – 3 %
Available water capacity (0-40in)	4 – 8.2 in
Soil reaction (1:1 water) (0-40in)	4.6 – 6.5
Subsurface fragment volume <=3" (Depth not specified)	0 – 27 %
Subsurface fragment volume >3" (Depth not specified)	0 – 80 %

Ecological dynamics

The DCR-DNH classifies this PES under two vegetation descriptions: Montane Mixed Oak / Oak - Hickory Forest and Rich Cove / Slope Forest.

Rich Cove/Slope Forests are described as follows:

Characteristic trees include sugar maple (Acer saccharum), basswoods (Tilia americana var. americana and var. heterophylla), white ash (Fraxinus americana), tulip-tree (Liriodendron tulipifera), and yellow buckeye (Aesculus flava; chiefly south of the James River). Herbaceous growth is lush with spring ephemerals and leafy, shade-tolerant forbs such as blue cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides), yellow jewelweed (Impatiens pallida), large-flowered trillium (Trillium grandiflorum), wood-nettle (Laportea canadensis), common black cohosh (Actaea racemosa), sweet cicely (Osmorhiza claytonii), Virginia waterleaf (Hydrophyllum virginianum), large-leaf waterleaf (Hydrophyllum macrophyllum), large-flowered bellwort (Uvularia grandiflora), red trillium (Trillium erectum), yellow violets (Viola pubescens and Viola pensylvanica), white baneberry (Actaea pachypoda), two-leaved miterwort (Mitella diphylla), goat's-beard (Aruncus dioicus var. dioicus), yellow mandarin (Prosartes lanuginosa, = Disporum lanuginosum), showy skullcap (Scutellaria serrata), eastern blue-eyed-mary (Collinsia verna), Guyandotte beauty (Synandra hispidula), glade fern (Homalosorus pycnocarpos), and many others. Compositional variation related to substrate and elevation is complex but partitions convincingly into several major community types. The principal threats to rich cove forests are logging and invasion by shade-tolerant, non-native weeds, especially garlic-mustard (Alliaria petiolata).

References: Coulling and Rawinski (1999), Fleming (1999), Fleming and Coulling (2001), Fleming and Moorhead (1996), Fleming and Moorhead (2000), Johnson and Ware (1982), Olson and Hupp (1986), Rawinski et al. (1994), Rawinski et al. (1996), Rheinhardt and Ware (1984).

Full description: http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural_heritage/natural_communities/ncTIIa.shtml

Montane Mixed Oak / Oak - Hickory Forests are described as follows:

Overstory composition contains mixtures of chestnut oak (Quercus montana), northern red oak (Quercus rubra), and white oak (Quercus alba). Overstory associates vary with geography and site conditions, but often include sweet birch (Betula lenta var. lenta), magnolias (Magnolia acuminata and Magnolia fraseri), sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum), hickories (Carya spp.), red maple (Acer rubrum), tulip-tree (Liriodendron tulipifera), and white pine (Pinus strobus). The understories of mixed oak communities usually contain a substantial component of heaths, but also contain many non-ericaceous species such as witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana var. virginiana), striped maple (Acer pensylvanicum), maple-leaved viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium), mountain holly (Ilex montana), buffalo-nut (Pyrularia pubera), and hazelnuts (Corylus cornuta var. cornuta and Corylus americana). The herbaceous component is relatively diverse, but often patchy and composed of both acidophiles and species characteristic of moderately fertile soils, including New York fern (Parathelypteris noveboracensis), galax (Galax urceolata), Curtis' goldenrod (Solidago curtisii), white wood aster (Eurybia divaricata), indian cucumber-root (Medeola virginiana), squawroot (Conopholis americana), halberd-leaved yellow violet (Viola hastata), speckled wood lily (Clintonia umbellulata), devil's-bit (Chamaelirium luteum), mountain golden-alexanders (Zizia trifoliata), and American lily-of-the-valley (Convallaria pseudomajalis).

References: Adams and Stephenson (1983), Coulling and Rawinski (1999), Fleming (2007), Fleming and Coulling (2001), Fleming and Moorhead (2000), Johnson and Ware (1982), McCormick and Platt (1980), Rawinski et al . (1994), Rawinski et al . (1996), Stephenson (1982a), Stephenson (1982b), Stephenson and Adams (1991).

Full description: http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural_heritage/natural_communities/ncTIIId.shtml

Differences in plant community may be due to rockiness, with the mixed oak-hickory occurring in areas that are drier (more rocky). Shallow limestone sinks are common as are rock outcrops in places.

State and transition model

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Click on state and transition labels to scroll to the respective text

State 1
Upland Forest State

Mature stands include a mixture of deciduous tree species. In some cases, pockets of shortleaf pine, Virginia pine and white pine may be present. Forestry is an important land-use. On-site determinations are needed to classify the reference conditions on this site.

State 2
Managed Agricultural State

Managed pasture for a variety of livestock is a typical land-use on this site. Other land-uses include corn, wheat, oats, barley, and hay.

State 3
Post Agricultural Abandonment Forest State

This state results when land has been put in crops or pasture and abandoned. Pine and weedy species usually colonize. Depending on the rate and intensity of invasion, it may naturally return to an upland forest or it might need management.

Community 3.1
Pine species - invasive plants/poison ivy

Transition T1A
State 1 to 2

Forest clearing, conversion to agricultural land-use. Practices are dependent on the management goals.

Transition T2A
State 2 to 3

Abandonment of agricultural land-use.

Restoration pathway R3A
State 3 to 1

Invasive plant control if needed, natural succession, tree planting if desired/needed.

Restoration pathway R3B
State 3 to 2

Re-establishment/implementation of agricultural practices. Control of weedy, invasive species where necessary.

Additional community tables

Table 5. Community 3.1 plant community composition

Group	Common name	Symbol	Scientific name	Annual production ()	Foliar cover (%)

Rangeland health reference sheet

Interpreting Indicators of Rangeland Health is a qualitative assessment protocol used to determine ecosystem condition based on benchmark characteristics described in the Reference Sheet. A suite of 17 (or more) indicators are typically considered in an assessment. The ecological site(s) representative of an assessment location must be known prior to applying the protocol and must be verified based on soils and climate. Current plant community cannot be used to identify the ecological site.

Author(s)/participant(s)
Contact for lead author
Date	07/22/2026
Approved by
Approval date
Composition (Indicators 10 and 12) based on	Annual Production

Indicators

Number and extent of rills:
Presence of water flow patterns:
Number and height of erosional pedestals or terracettes:
Bare ground from Ecological Site Description or other studies (rock, litter, lichen, moss, plant canopy are not bare ground):
Number of gullies and erosion associated with gullies:
Extent of wind scoured, blowouts and/or depositional areas:
Amount of litter movement (describe size and distance expected to travel):
Soil surface (top few mm) resistance to erosion (stability values are averages - most sites will show a range of values):
Soil surface structure and SOM content (include type of structure and A-horizon color and thickness):
Effect of community phase composition (relative proportion of different functional groups) and spatial distribution on infiltration and runoff:
Presence and thickness of compaction layer (usually none; describe soil profile features which may be mistaken for compaction on this site):
Functional/Structural Groups (list in order of descending dominance by above-ground annual-production or live foliar cover using symbols: >>, >, = to indicate much greater than, greater than, and equal to):

Dominant:

Sub-dominant:

Other:

Additional:
Amount of plant mortality and decadence (include which functional groups are expected to show mortality or decadence):
Average percent litter cover (%) and depth ( in):
Expected annual annual-production (this is TOTAL above-ground annual-production, not just forage annual-production):
Potential invasive (including noxious) species (native and non-native). List species which BOTH characterize degraded states and have the potential to become a dominant or co-dominant species on the ecological site if their future establishment and growth is not actively controlled by management interventions. Species that become dominant for only one to several years (e.g., short-term response to drought or wildfire) are not invasive plants. Note that unlike other indicators, we are describing what is NOT expected in the reference state for the ecological site:
Perennial plant reproductive capability:

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Natural ResourcesConservation Service

Ecological site F128XY516WV

Mesic Limestone With Interbedded Sedimentary Uplands

Last updated: 5/14/2025 Accessed: 07/22/2026

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General information

MLRA notes

Ecological site concept

Table 1. Dominant plant species

Natural Resources
Conservation Service

Last updated: 5/14/2025
Accessed: 07/22/2026