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
6
m
Field Height
1
m
Tree Cover
95
%
Shrub Cover
25
%
Field Cover
60
%
Nonvascular Cover
0.5
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
This plot is similar to plot JRNF076 but has a denser fern-dominated herb layer and a somewhat greater variety of overstory trees. On this site, Quercus rubra was the leading replacement species for formerly dominant American chestnut, but some Acer rubrum, Prunus serotina, Quercus alba, and Carya ovata are scattered in the overstory. Oak recruitment is currently very sparse and Acer rubrum and A. saccharum dominate the sub-canopy and suggest a future successional trajectory toward replacement of red oak. Although this vegetation clearly falls into the category of "northern red oak forest," it lacks (or nearly lacks) many of the characteristic shrubs found in similar stands, e.g., Ilex montana, Rhododendron calendulaceum, Vaccinium simulatum.
