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
34
m
Shrub Height
6
m
Field Height
3
m
Tree Cover
60
%
Shrub Cover
60
%
Field Cover
4
%
Nonvascular Cover
15
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Plot located in a small (< 10 ac), streamside red spruce stand at ca. 3750 ft elevation on Salt Pond Mountain. Here spruce varies from dominant to co-dominant with Tsuga canadensis, Pinus strobus, Acer rubrum, Nyssa sylvatica, and Betula alleghaniensis. Hemlock used to be more important, and many large individuals of this species have succumbed to hemlock woolly adelgid, leaving large canopy gaps and standing snags. Huge numbers of red spruce seedlings and saplings are now invading these gaps. The habitat of this stand is highly variable and includes saturated, sphagnous flats, moderately well drained hummocks, depressions, and low toe slopes; hydrology is similarly varied, but the overall habitat could be considered a saturated wetland. The sample encompasses a streamside depression, the stream channel, and a small toe-slope hillock, capturing the hummock and hollow microtopography and mixed hydrology of the stand. The stream appears to be flashy while the depression holds water occasionally and is also saturated with seepage. Herbs are sparse and the ground cover consists mostly of needles, bryophytes, and woody seedlings. The shrub layer is dominated by dense Rhododendron maximum 4 to 8 meters tall. Tree tag and conduit for unknown Mountain Lake Biological Station research are in the plot.
0-5 cm: littler / OM
5-10 cm: dark black organic soil
10-40 cm: red clay loam
40 cm: bedrock? (consistent rock at ~ 40 cm)
Soil collected from upland / hummock areas
A
7.41
%
3.7
20.58
Disturbance Data:
Disturbance Type
Disturbance Intensity
Disturbance Comment
unknown
Several dead hemlocks and much hemlock woody debris nearby.
