Isolated swamp forest owned by the Monongahela National Forest. The surrounding land is managed as forest land. Old railgrade from turn of the century logging boom crosses the toeslope ca. 100 yards W of the plot. The Galdy fork river is located ca. 100 yards E.;Somewhat isolated patch of swamp forest dominated by Picea rubens and Tsuga canadensis in the overstory and a dense understory/shrub layer of Rhododendrom maximum. The forest floor is a dense mat of shpagnum moss.
Representativeness
Medium sized patch of a red spruce - eastern hemlock / great laurel / sphagnum moss forested swamp. Plot was placed to sample swamp signature observed on old topo map from the 1960's which is still forested today.