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
32
m
Shrub Height
6
m
Field Height
1
m
Tree Cover
95
%
Shrub Cover
65
%
Field Cover
55
%
Nonvascular Cover
2
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Site is part of an extensive, rocky diabase "flatwoods" supporting a relatively old stand of dry, species-rich oak-hickory forest. Soils in this area have a distinct fragipan of montmorillonite clay and alternate between being rock-hard during dry periods and waterlogged during wet periods. This plot is located on a gentle slope along a small swale/stream and represents the most mesic extreme of the forest. Soils here may have at least somewhat better drainage than in most of the area. Composition differs from most of the overall stand in having large Fraxinus americana dominant in the overstory, Carya cordiformis (rather than C. glabra or C. alba) the most abundant hickory, and forbs (rather than graminoids) dominant in the herb layer.