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
100
m²
Plot Quality Fields:
Plot Validation Level
(2) classification plot: sufficient for inclusion in a classification revision
Overall Plot Vegetation Fields:
Shrub Height
6
m
Field Height
5
m
Shrub Cover
55
%
Field Cover
90
%
Nonvascular Cover
15
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
The plot captures the vegetation in one of the largest openings in a 0.8-ha (2-acre) shrubby fen that occupies a lateral seepage area flanking Rattle Creek. This opening lacks trees but has areas of dense shrub patch-dominance, primarily by Salix sericea, Thuja occidentalis, and Rhamnus alnifolia. The herb layer is dominated by coarse species, including Thelypteris palustris, Scirpus expansus, and Packera aurea. Thatch from the Scirpus, in particular, precludes high cover by more delicate graminoids as in plot WASH006.
