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
5
m
Field Height
5
m
Tree Cover
70
%
Shrub Cover
75
%
Field Cover
5
%
Nonvascular Cover
30
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
This plot was located in a flat cove head known as Pine Swamp, located just below the crest of Peters Mountain. The habitat is laced with several linear, partially open seepage swales supporting dense mats of Sphagnum and colonies of wetland sedges. The plot captures the more extensive and better-drained forest of Tsuga canadensis and Betula alleghaniensis, under which grows dense Rhododendron maximum. Plot placement was problematic, but the sample was positioned in a location where the Rhododendron was quite open underneath and where the hemlocks were still alive. Based on the large size of the canopy trees, this area apparently escaped cutting when the adjacent slopes were last harvested.