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
1
m
Tree Cover
85
%
Shrub Cover
60
%
Field Cover
25
%
Nonvascular Cover
5
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Plot located in a shallow swale within the floodplain of a headwaters branch of Seacorrie Swamp in the newly established Big Woods State Forest. A sandy stream channel (possibly manipulated in the past) is located about 15 m east of the plot. Hydrology is difficult to assess; the area in and around the plot is probably shallowly seasonally flooded, at least early in the growing season in most years. The low bottom supports a second-growth hardwood forest generally co-dominated by Nyssa biflora and Acer rubrum in several age/size classes. Taxodium distichum is dominant in the overstory in the vicinity of the plot, but scattered elsewhere. Liquidambar styraciflua is also common, while Quercus phellos and Q. michauxii are infrequent overstory trees. The plot has dense cover of Arundinaria tecta in about half of the plot, and a tall shrub layer of Fraxinus caroliniana in the other half. The herbaceous flora is surprisingly diverse.
