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
30
m
Shrub Height
6
m
Field Height
8
m
Tree Cover
90
%
Shrub Cover
85
%
Field Cover
45
%
Nonvascular Cover
2
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
The plot is situated on the lowermost slope of a mesic ravine, adjacent to a small stream. The vegetation is an upland forest, but very small inclusions of wetland habitats and flora in the stream channel were unavoidable. The stand has an overstory dominated by medium-age Liriodendron tulipifera and Quercus alba, with Fagus grandifolia dominant in all the sub-canopy tree layers. The understory is fairly diverse, with Cornus florida, Carpinus caroliniana, Asimina triloba, Lindera benzoin, Oxydendrum arboreum, Vaccinium fuscatum, and sapling Liquidambar styraciflua all more or less common. The herbaceous flora is also diverse but patchy, with ferns (Polystichum acrostichoides, Thelypteris noveboracensis, Athyrium filix-femina var. asplenioides) contributing the greatest cover. There is no recruitment of either oaks or Liriodendron, and the successional trajectory of this stand is clearly moving toward increased dominance of Fagus.