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
25
m
Shrub Height
6
m
Field Height
5
m
Tree Cover
80
%
Shrub Cover
45
%
Field Cover
30
%
Nonvascular Cover
0.5
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Secondary, even-aged dry oak forest that regenerated following multiple disturbances (cutting, mining, loss of chestnut). Representative of the south-facing slope of cove along the AT south of Rt. 16. This plot is located just south of an area that was extensively strip-mined prior to the establishment of the Jefferson National Forest, and now supports young secondary forests. The sampled stand may be older than these young forests, but was no doubt heavily cut around the time the mining was taking place. Currently, it is a mixed forest of dry-site oaks - Quercus coccinea, Q. velutina, Q. coccinea, and Q. alba, which is under-represented in the plot. Oxydendrum arboreum and Acer rubrum dominate the understory and contribute > 60% of the woody stem density. Patches of Vaccinium pallidum form a low, patchy shrub layer. a number of xerophytic herbs occur, but none achieves a cover of 1%. Downslope, closer to the stream, the vegetation transitions to a more mesophytic, acidic cove forest with dense Rhododendron maximum shrub layer.
