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
27
m
Shrub Height
6
m
Field Height
8
m
Tree Cover
75
%
Shrub Cover
70
%
Field Cover
75
%
Nonvascular Cover
40
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Vegetation constitutes a "seepage swamp" located in a portion of a headwaters stream valley where groundwater is discharged laterally from the toe of the upland slope across the boulder-filled bottom. The site is characterized by several large, cobbly spring run / rills in which muck-filled hollows contain dense herbaceous vegetation and hummocks are better drained and support woody plants. The northern tree Fraxinus nigra is notably common here in all age classes, along with Fraxinus americana and several other more ubiquitous tree species. Both the shrub and herb layers are well developed, fairly dense (70-75% cover), and diverse. Two state-rare herbs, Poa paludigena and Trillium cernuum, occur within the plot.