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
43
m
Field Height
1
m
Tree Cover
80
%
Shrub Cover
5
%
Field Cover
50
%
Nonvascular Cover
1
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Very small, somewhat disturbed stand noteworthy nevertheless for the stature of the overstory and floristic diversity. Proximity to SR 605 and to an unpaved spur road that leads to a campsite expose this stand to invasion by light-demanding, ruderal species. Upslope and beyond plot, the vegetation has been extensively disturbed, and what was once an apparently old-growth Tsuga canadensis forest along Statons Creek has been decimated by hemlock woolly adelgid. Although the plot contains only one snag, several dead Pinus strobus are present in the stand. Module 5 unavoidably captures a portion of an extensive gap; species additions in residual modules, however, fail to reflect the increased abundance of gap-phase species at the far end of the plot. Many of the downed trees upslope appear to have been felled rather than to have died naturally. Canopy openness and extent of edge undoubtedly contribute to high species richness. Within 100 m of plot, the floodplain of the Pedlar River supports a very tall canopy of Pinus strobus (40-50 m), which was almost certainly planted 60-70 years ago, and an understory containing species typical of montane alluvial forests. The P. strobus present in the plot may have been planted at the same time or escaped from the adjacent, larger population.
