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
29
m
Shrub Height
6
m
Field Height
5
m
Tree Cover
85
%
Shrub Cover
35
%
Field Cover
10
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Vegetation in this plot is a mixed oak - red maple - magnolia forest on a northeast-facing slope above a cove. This habitat appears rather mesic and the overstory trees are fairly mature. This site was probably last disturbed during salvage operations following the arrival of the chestnut blight. The stand has high woody species diversity but herbs, except for Gaultheria procumbens, are sparse. Currently, there is little or no recruitment (other than seedlings) of the dominant oaks and the future successional trend appears to be toward increasing Acer rubrum, Magnolia fraseri, and Fagus grandifolia. Downslope, this stand grades into acidic cove forest; just upslope, on the crest of the spur, there is an abrupt transition to an oak/heath forest dominated by Quercus montana, Leucothoe recurva, Vaccinium erythrocarpum, and other ericads.