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
38
m
Shrub Height
6
m
Field Height
5
m
Tree Cover
85
%
Shrub Cover
50
%
Field Cover
60
%
Nonvascular Cover
0.5
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Site is a small floodplain along a headwaters tributary of the Pamunkey River. In this reach, the stream is only a few meters wide and entrenched in a steep, forested ravine system. The plot is located on a floodplain terrace along the north side of the stream. Soils are moderately well drained and the site is probably rarely overflowed. The forest is dominated by an even-aged stand of Liquidambar styraciflua and Liriodendron tulipifera, indicative of past clearing or clear-cutting. Fagus grandifolia is fairly common in the small tree layer, while Carpinus caroliniana is the most abundant shrub. Several ferns co-dominate the herb layer.
Average profile:
0-1 cm: thin deciduous leaf litter
1-10+ cm: medium brown sandy loam
microtopographically low spots have heavier-textured soils with orange mottling near the surface, and would probably be classified as subhygric
Disturbance Data:
Disturbance Type
Disturbance Intensity
Disturbance Comment
unknown
Even-aged overstory indicates clearing or clear-cutting in past.