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
34
m
Shrub Height
6
m
Field Height
5
m
Tree Cover
90
%
Shrub Cover
50
%
Field Cover
40
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
The plot is located on an elevated alluvial terrace along the Nottoway River, in a relatively high-gradient reach along the Fall Zone. Much of the floodplain is sandy and very well drained; however, according to the landowner, the entire bottom is occasionally flooded to a depth of a meter or more in occasional, very heavy storm events. The higher levees here support almost xerophytic upland forests with species such as Quercus coccinea, Carya pallida, and Vaccinium arboreum. On the main terrace, much of the forest is very young following cutting; a few less disturbed areas support mixed hardwoods with dense understory/shrub layers of Carpinus carolinana and Asimnina triloba. The relatively mature stand captured by the plot has mixed overstory dominance by Platanus occidentalis, Acer barbatum, Carya cordiformis, Liquidambar styraciflua, and Ulmus alata. Due to the mid-summer survey and impacts of an extended drought, the herbaceous flora was likely under-represented in the sampling.
