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
32
m
Shrub Height
6
m
Field Height
2
m
Tree Cover
70
%
Shrub Cover
25
%
Field Cover
90
%
Nonvascular Cover
1
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Level upland at top of short bluff bordering the bottomland of the Nottoway River at Chub Sandhill Natural Area Preserve. Fire from the adjacent prescribed burn unit (mostly in pine woodland) burns lightly but frequently into the hardwood forest in this area, possibly inhibited by soil moisture and lack of flammable litter. The forest canopy is open and consists of small trees with a few larger trees on the edge of the bluff. Carya cordiformis dominates throughout. The shrub layer is very open and many species, including Cercis canadensis and Asimina triloba have been reduced to lwo sprouts by repeated fire. The herb layer is dense and has become more so with burning, producing particularly high cover of Carex abscondita and Amphicarpaea bracteata. This stand is very unusual for the southeast Virginia Coastal Plain, particularly on deep sand substrates, as it contains a number of calciphilic and nutrient-demanding species, including Carya cordiformis, Cercis canadensis, Aquilegia canadensis, Scrophularia lanceolata, Fraxinus americana, Chenopodium standleyanum, etc. Further research is necessary to determine the nature of substrate conditions that allow these species to occur in an otherwise sterile, extremely acidic landscape.
The plot is permanently monumented with a metal conduit stake at each corner, to facilitate long-term monitoring and re-sampling.
