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
1000
m²
Plot Quality Fields:
Plot Validation Level
(2) classification plot: sufficient for inclusion in a classification revision
Overall Plot Vegetation Fields:
Tree Height
26
m
Field Height
1
m
Tree Cover
80
%
Shrub Cover
20
%
Field Cover
40
%
Nonvascular Cover
1
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Unusual stand dominated by large individuals of Carya ovalis and Liriodendron tulipifera on sheltered upper slope below the Quarry Trail near the western boundary of the Sweet Briar College campus. There is no evidence of past logging, although Liriodendron would suggest stand thinning 50-70 years ago, and lack of well-developed herb layer (except for Polystichum acrostichoides) may indicate past grazing. Absence of any Quercus individuals above the shrub stratum brings to mind Carya ovata stands in the once intensively grazed landscape of Tar Jacket Ridge and Cold Mountain in the northern Blue Ridge. Module 5 contains an old gap beneath which the understory is more open and coarse woody debris much more abundant.
