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
36
m
Shrub Height
2
m
Field Height
2
m
Tree Cover
80
%
Shrub Cover
2
%
Field Cover
40
%
Nonvascular Cover
0
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Plot documents a forested floodplain slough with large Nyssa aquatica and Taxodium distichum, many over 1 meter DBH. The depression is close to the main channel of the Blackwater River and connected to it. The plot encompasses the deepest part of the slough an a small part of the slightly higher edge. This habitat is deeply flooded during the winter and spring but appears to draw down rapidly during the summer. The herbaceous vegetation contains many perennial and annual "draw-down" species well adapted to seasonal flooding and fluctuating water levels. Fraxinus caroliniana is the most common understory tree / shrub.