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
33
m
Shrub Height
3
m
Field Height
7
m
Tree Cover
95
%
Shrub Cover
65
%
Field Cover
80
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Plot is located in a fairly typical, forested shallow slough within the very broad floodplain of the Nottoway River. This site is about 100 meters wide and located between US Rt 40 and younger, cut-over floodplain forest to the north. It is probably seasonally flooded, but not deeply; no water marks were evident on trees. The stand is dominated by Nyssa aquatica, with large Fraxinus profunda second in importance, the trees of both species tall with swollen bases. The prevalent understory of shrub-sized Fraxinus caroliniana (many with stems < 2.5 cm DBH) varies from open to dense, while patches of Saururus cernuus similarly dominate the herb layer. This is not an old-age stand, but is reasonably mature second-growth; stand age was estimated by International Paper to be > 99 years. There is no evidence that Taxodium ever co-occured on this site. To the west, toward the river, the slough peters out and the vegetation abruptly transitions to drier (but still poorly drained) floodplain forest dominated by hydric oaks and sedges (see plot SUSS023).
