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:
Shrub Height
4
m
Field Height
1
m
Shrub Cover
60
%
Field Cover
20
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Dune scrub in shallow swale between secondary dunes, about 125 meters inland from the beach in the northern part of Hog Island. Myrica cerifera dominates in dense, wind-pruned thickets broken by herbaceous openings. The plot was laid out around a discrete thicket, and most of the herbaceous flora occurs on the open edges. Hydrologic regime is difficult to assess, especially following months of prolonged drought. Tentatively assessed as an upland site, the habitat may be much wetter than it looks, at least at certain times. This community appears typical of maritime scrub on Hog Island, although the Myrica grows taller father inland. It is noteworthy in that most dune scrub in the northern Coastal Plain of Virginia is dominated by Myrica pensylvanica.
