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
6
m
Field Height
7
m
Tree Cover
90
%
Shrub Cover
7
%
Field Cover
7
%
Nonvascular Cover
0
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Plot was positioned in a narrow swale behind a sandy levee on the Banister River. The swale is situated between a levee and an upland slope on a narrow floodplain. There are no water marks on the trees and the ground is dominated by leaf litter. A few snags, old fallen trees, and tip up mounds are evident, but there has been no recent disturbance. The forest is dominated by a mixed stand of Acer rubrum, Fraxinus pennsylvanica, Quercus phellos, and Liquidambar styraciflua. It has a very open shrub layer and a patchy herb layer dominated by sedges such as Carex intumescens var. intumescens. The ridge and swale topography may repeat in nearby areas, thus the occurrence may be larger than estimated.
in the deepest part of the swale:
0-5 cm leaf litter, black organic matter
3-15+cm yellowish heavy clay with orange mottles
on hummock:
yellow clay loam