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
31
m
Shrub Height
6
m
Field Height
8
m
Tree Cover
95
%
Shrub Cover
40
%
Field Cover
30
%
Nonvascular Cover
0.5
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
The plot covers most of the short, gentle slope of a shallow ravine, where a small remnant of mature forest remains between a road and a clearcut. Medium- to large-diameter white oak comprises most of the overstory, with hickories, red maple, and blackgum forming most of the understory. Compared to most forests in the Appomattox-Buckingham State Forest, this stand has an exceptional number of herbs, which probably reflects better-than-average soil depth and unusually high pH, calcium, and total base saturation levels in the silty loam soil. Stand was aged by DOF at 129 years (stand origin = 1880).