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
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
90
%
Shrub Cover
90
%
Field Cover
5
%
Nonvascular Cover
10
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
NOTE: Trees not measured.
This site is a narrow stream-head / side swale that feeds into a larger bottomland and drains a disturbed sandhill. Because of very thick, locally impenetrable vegetation, precise plot boundaries were not established and a visually estimated 400 square meter (~ 10 X 40 m) area was sampled. The upper soil horizon consists of poorly decomposed, fibric peat, which is covered in places by patches of Sphagnum. Vegetation is a forest with a pocosin-like understory. Nyssa biflora dominates and contributes the largest trees (60-65 cm DBH, ~30 m tall) to the stand. Chamaecyparis thyoides 30-32 cm DBH and ~ 20-25 m tall are scattered, while smaller stems (5-20 cm DBH) of Acer rubrum, Nyssa biflora, Chamaecyparis, and Magnolia virginiana form an open understory. The shrub layer is very dense, with Lyonia lucida and Rhododendron viscosum dominating, and Clethra alnifolia and Arundinaria tecta also patchily abundant. Very small openings in the shrub cover allow a few herbs (primarily Woodwardia areolata) to grow.
