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
35
m
Shrub Height
6
m
Field Height
7
m
Tree Cover
70
%
Shrub Cover
40
%
Field Cover
85
%
Nonvascular Cover
1
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Plot documents mature hardwood forest on a floodplain terrace between two channels of the Mattaponi River. The ground is mostly elevated but has depressions that hold water for short periods. There is evidence of recent overland flooding. Large oaks (Quercus michauxii, Q. lyrata) 65-107 cm DBH dominate the overstory, with scattered Liquidambar styraciflua and Acer rubrum also present. Shrubs mostly occur on the better-drained, higher parts of the terrace and plot; in the lower-lying areas, dense colonies of grasses (Chasmanthium latifolium, Poa autumnalis), sedges, and some "draw-down" forbs are prevalent. This is one of the few bottomland areas along this reach of the Mattaponi that was not logged recently, probably because it required difficult access across a channel.
