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
28
m
Shrub Height
5
m
Field Height
1
m
Tree Cover
90
%
Shrub Cover
55
%
Field Cover
40
%
Nonvascular Cover
4
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Small-stream montane alluvial forest with seepage inclusions; a small rocky stream channel draining groundwater from the adjacent toe slope runs through the plot. Sample is located some distance from the main channel of Laurel Fork and probably floods very infrequently in high-rainfall events. Patches of sphagnum and other mosses are common. Ferns dominate the ground layer. Red spruce regeneration is present in the shrub layer; otherwise, the shrub layer is dominated by Rhododendron maximum ~ 5 m tall. Tsuga canadensis in plot seems pretty healthy, although some trees in the larger stand are not healthy and adelgids were noted in the area.
On hummock:
0-3 cm: leaf litter
3-8 cm: root mat
8+ cm: red-brown fine sandy loam, some areas with orange mottles
In seeps/channels: gravelly much 5+ cm deep.