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
32
m
Shrub Height
6
m
Field Height
5
m
Tree Cover
85
%
Shrub Cover
6
%
Field Cover
1
%
Nonvascular Cover
2
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
This plot is located in the same long, sinuous depression as plot CHWM006 but is situated in a slightly more elevated (less deeply flooded) area. The site is located on a high, likely fluvial-estuarine terrace that borders the Chickahominy River and extends away from it for approximately 5 miles. This part of the depression supports a medium-age mixed wetland forest of Nyssa biflora, Quercus lyrata, Q. phellos, Q. palustris, Acer rubrum, and Liquidambar styraciflua. This stand may have been cut, or partly so, when the adjacent mesic white oak -black oak - southern red oak flatwoods were clear-cut a few decades ago. Herbaceous diversity is slightly higher than in CHWM006, with Iris virginica and a few sedges present. Leersia lenticularis, a grass more typically found in alluvial bottomlands, is also scattered throught the area. Exposed lateral tree roots form hummocks with moss cover, including some Sphagnum. Plot is adjacent to a deeper part of the depression which held some water on the sampling date.
0-4 cm: leaf litter
4-25 cm: medium gray clay
25+ cm: light gray clay with sparse orange mottles
Disturbance Data:
Disturbance Type
Disturbance Intensity
Disturbance Comment
unknown
Smilax and Leucothoe stems almost completely stripped of foliage by deer. Surrounding oak flatwoods were logged several decades ago and contain logging road traces and old ruts
