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
5
m
Field Height
5
m
Tree Cover
90
%
Shrub Cover
45
%
Field Cover
99
%
Nonvascular Cover
0
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
This floodplain forest is dominated by medium- to large-size Platanus occidentalis and occupies an elevated levee in a broad floodplain along Turkey Run. Alluvial soils here are washed from calcareous siltstone and diabase of the surround Culpeper Basin, and have high fertility. These soils support an exceedingly lush herbaceous flora that includes Mertensia virginica, Hydrophyllum virginianum, Sanicula odorata, Asarum canadense, Floerkea proserpinacoides, and Laportea canadensis as patch-dominants. Surprisingly low numbers of exotics occur in this part of the floodplain. Several other trees, including Celtis occidentalis and Quercus shumardii, have much higher cover elsewhere on the levee. To the west, the floodplain drops into a broad, backswamp area that supports an entirely different, more hydrophytic forest (see plot FAUQ005).