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
5
m
Tree Cover
85
%
Shrub Cover
40
%
Field Cover
30
%
Nonvascular Cover
1
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
The sampled stand is a classic, Southern Appalachian dry-mesic mixed oak forest undergoing oak decline. Quercus rubra and Quercus montana co-dominate the overstory, but young regeneration of these species is absent. Magnolia acuminata, Magnolia fraseri, and Oxydendrum arboreum dominate the subcanopy, while saplings of Acer pensylvanicum dominate the shrub layer. Several snags of Robinia pseudoacacia at west end of plot date from some historical, canopy-opening disturbance, most likely the extensive railroad logging conducted on this part of Clinch Mountain around 1900.