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
26
m
Shrub Height
6
m
Field Height
5
m
Tree Cover
85
%
Shrub Cover
15
%
Field Cover
5
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
The plot is within a 150-acre forest stand on a stabilized dune on the bayside of the Eastern Shore. The stand is part of a larger 500-acre occurrence of maritime forest that stretches in discontinuous patches along the bayside from below Kiptopeake to Cape Charles. The plot captures a mature portion of the stand dominated by tall hardwoods, while the adjacent area is dominated by pine. Inland, the pine-hardwood forest grades into an even-aged pine stand and then an agricultural field. The sampled vegetation is a closed canopy, deciduous forest with an open shrub and herb stratum. The ground cover is mostly bare leaf litter. The sample is representative of maritime forests occurring in the Kiptopeake and Picketts Harbor area that are more mature and contain greater hardwood diversity than other maritime forests of the Eastern Shore. See also plots KISP004, KISP005, and ESNR004.
