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
Plot Quality Fields:
Plot Validation Level
(2) classification plot: sufficient for inclusion in a classification revision
Overall Plot Vegetation Fields:
Field Height
75
m
Field Cover
75
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
This sample represents a true releve. No plot was laid out due to low species richness, large spatial extent of homogeneous vegetation, and softness of substrate. This (sub)tidal mud flat is the largest on the Pamunkey River. The vegetation is dominated by Nuphar advena, with subtly high cover of Ceratophyllum demersum. More vegetation samples will be necessary to determine if this latter species is truly characteristic of the entire tidal flat or the community type or to capture any additional prostrate or floating species. One such taxon is Sagittaria subulata, which is locally restricted to a narrow band (< 10 m wide) of tidal flat largely devoid of Nuphar and immediately adjacent to the higher and clearly intertidal marsh. Close examination of a small area reveals that actual cover of Nuphar is less than what visual estimates from a distance suggest.