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
33
m
Shrub Height
5
m
Field Height
5
m
Tree Cover
80
%
Shrub Cover
40
%
Field Cover
8
%
Nonvascular Cover
7
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Plot located in stand of the Cumberlandian version of acidic cove forest. The site is the bottom of a small cove that leads into a more extensive cove/valley of Laurel Branch in Breaks Interstate Park. With the exception of an 80 cm DBH Fagus grandifolia, the stand is quite young. Tsuga canadensis formerly had much higher cover and importance; most hemlocks are still alive but have lost a large percentage of their needles. Rhododendron maximum dominates the shrub layer, and there is a surprising diversity of low-cover herbs for such an acidic site. Mesophytic bryophytes such as Thuidium, Hypnum, and Rhodobryum are abundant on logs, boulders, and tree trunks. There is extensive wind damage in nearby parts of this stand.