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
31
m
Shrub Height
6
m
Field Height
5
m
Tree Cover
85
%
Shrub Cover
50
%
Field Cover
50
%
Nonvascular Cover
1
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
This steep, west-facing lower slope along Little Stony Creek supports a nearly pure stand of medium-diameter (40-65 cm DBH) white oak. Vegetation composition, however, is quite diverse, with an array of mesophytic woody species in the understory and an herb layer dominated by several ferns. Old rotted stumps indicate selective cutting decades ago, but it is not clear what species may have been removed at that time. Virtually all oaks are in the overstory, suggesting that without fire, the successional trajectory of this stand will eventually move toward a more mixed and mesophytic composition.