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
80
%
Shrub Cover
20
%
Field Cover
50
%
Nonvascular Cover
50
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Sampling site is located in Limekiln Hollow off Forest Road 194. The plot was positioned on the eastern side of the hollow, in an extensive lower-slope stand of mixed hardwoods and some white pine. A salient feature of this site is the high cover of bryophytes on the forest floor, which resulted from extensive sheet erosion of topsoil in the distant past. Whether this is an artifact of grazing, logging, or some other disturbance is not known, but the scars have healed over and the current stand is quite mature. Its canopy is very diverse, containing white, red, and chestnut oaks, beech, cucumber magnolia, tulip-poplar, and white pine, along with occasional hickories and red maple. The herbaceous flora is patchy but species-rich, consisting of numerous mesophytic and xerophytic forbs and graminoids.
Surficial litter variable over plot, 0 to 5 cm. Profile:
0-5 cm: needle and leaf litter
5+ cm: medium to reddish-brown sandy loam with small rocks throughout