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
30
m
Shrub Height
6
m
Field Height
7
m
Tree Cover
80
%
Shrub Cover
70
%
Field Cover
35
%
Nonvascular Cover
3
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Sampling site is a shallow back swamp about 40 m wide that extends for some distance along the base of a bluff at the back edge of the Meherrin River floodplain. Unlike many similar back swamps, this one is situated on a relatively high floodplain terrace and appears to receive mixed hydrological inputs from both overland flooding (likely eutrophic) and groundwater seepage (likely extremely acidic) from springs at the base of the bluff. About 70% of the plot area is a wet hollow, while 30% consists of bryophyte-covered hummocks around tree bases. Seasonal flooding appears to be relatively shallow and perhaps mostly occurs during the winter and early spring. The vegetation has a distinctly more "acidic" character than any other backswamp seen on the Meherrin and Nottoway Rivers, with medium-size to impressively large Nyssa biflora dominating the overstory. Stand age was estimated by International Paper as > 99 years. Fraxinus caroliniana, Clethra alnifolia, Viburnum nudum, Leucothoe racemosa, and Arundinaria gigantea ssp. tecta are prominent in the understory. The herb layer is variably dominated by Saururus cernuus and Carex seorsa. Toward the river, this stand abruptly transitions to better-drained floodplain forest; on the downstream end, the backswamp deepens and the stand gives way to a more typical swamp forest of Nyssa aquatica and "draw-down" herbs. The adjacent bluff supports a medium-aged mesic mixed hardwood forest of oaks, beech, sweetgum, and holly.
