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
41
m
Shrub Height
6
m
Field Height
2
m
Tree Cover
80
%
Shrub Cover
90
%
Field Cover
90
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Plot was surveyed very early in the growing season, and many trees and shrubs were not fully leafed out. Cover values were estimated as if leaf-out was full. The vegetation is a fairly mature hardwood forest occupying a narrow slope between an agricultural field and seasonally flooded bottomlands along the Nottoway River. The plot was located at the widest part of the band, adjacent to a field corner, and also in the least disturbed and weedy portion. This forest is unusually "rich" for the Coastal Plain, sporting a lush herb layer and a population of Aesculus sylvatica that is somewhat disjunct from its usual Piedmont range. The early spring herbaceous aspect was dominated by Podophyllum peltatum, Erythronium americanum, and Nemophila aphylla. The tree layers are fairly diverse, with large specimens of Quercus shumardii and Fraxinus pensylvanica forming a "supra-canopy" over somewhat shorter Juglans nigra, Liquidambar styraciflua, Celtis occidentalis, and Carya spp.