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
800
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
5
m
Field Height
1
m
Tree Cover
80
%
Shrub Cover
8
%
Field Cover
65
%
Nonvascular Cover
10
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
This site is a low, eroding levee by the Nottoway River. Microtopography is very uneven, with a high bank adjacent the river bisected by a downcutting swale draining a lower terrace to the rear. Taxodium distichum is the leading canopy dominant, followed closely by Fraxinus pennsylvanica. Large specimens of Carya aquatica, Quercus lyrata, and Platanus occidentalis are also present. The understory is open and a locally dense assemblage of herbs adapted to "draw-down" habitats is present. The forest is mature, with the largest trees 80 to 160 cm in diameter. Except for the high banks by the river, this site is flooded for significant periods of the year.
No profile development.
Soil on levee = medium brown silt loam
Soil in hollow / swale = silty clay with white and orange mottles to just below surface.