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
28
m
Shrub Height
6
m
Field Height
6
m
Tree Cover
65
%
Shrub Cover
15
%
Field Cover
70
%
Nonvascular Cover
0
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Sampling site is a low levee / terrace / shelf directly adjacent to Blackwater River and lying perhaps two meters in elevation above mean water level. Hydrology is very difficult to assess, as the site may be wholly or partly flooded for extended periods (especially winter-flooded), yet is exposed for much of the growing season; it is tentatively assigned to the "temporarily flooded" class but may be better characterized as "seasonally flooded." The vegetation is a very open forest consisting mostly of Taxodium distichum, Carya aquatica, and Quercus laurifolia, with dense herbaceous vegetation beneath. A large Quercus laurifolia overhangs the plot, while the high cover of Betula nigra is contributed mostly by dense regeneration of small (< 2.5 cm DBH), shrubby saplings. The herb layer is dominated by species characteristic of "draw-down" habitats, which also suggest significant periods of inundation.
