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
38
m
Shrub Height
5
m
Field Height
1
m
Tree Cover
90
%
Shrub Cover
6
%
Field Cover
45
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
This plot is representative of a relatively small (~20-acre) but impressively mature stand of bottomland hardwoods along the south side of Three Creek at Southampton Correctional Center. The forest here has not been cut in probably 100 to 150 years, and consists of uneven-aged mixtures of 50 to > 100 cm DBH Quercus laurifolia, Q. lyrata, Liquidambar styraciflua, Ulmus americana, Carya aquatica, Acer rubrum, and a little Quercus palustris near the stream channel. The subcanopy is open and the shrub layer is sparse throughout, creating a "gallery" effect that highlights the lush and varied herbaceous flora. The plot is located well away from the stream channel in a very slight depression at the head of a back-slough to the southeast that deepens and contains a stand of Nyssa aquatica.