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
26
m
Shrub Height
6
m
Field Height
1
m
Tree Cover
70
%
Shrub Cover
20
%
Field Cover
95
%
Nonvascular Cover
0.5
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
This is a relatively young alluvial swamp forest at the confluence of the Willis River and a small tributary. The habitat is seasonally flooded, with hummock and hollow microtopography and ca. 10 cm of standing water at the time of survey. The vegetation is a relatively young forest that probably regenerated on cleared or cut-over bottomland. Even-aged Fraxinus pennsylvanica dominates the current overstory, but Quercus lyrata, Q. palustris, Acer rubrum, and Ulmus americana comprise the majority of understory recruitment. True shrubs are rather sparse and the herb layer is densely patch-dominated by various hydrophytic graminoids, Boehmeria cylindrica, and Saururus cernuus.