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
1
m
Tree Cover
80
%
Shrub Cover
70
%
Field Cover
30
%
Nonvascular Cover
0.5
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Plot location: just upslope from Gauging Station on Holiday Creek, downstream and around bend from Rt. 614.
This steep, short slope supports a dry-mesic, mixed forest of Quercus alba and Quercus rubra, Carya alba, and Liriodendron tulipifera. The stand is fairly young, with decent recruitment of Carya alba and Quercus alba in the younger age classes. Cercis canadensis, Carpinus caroliniana, Oxydendrum arboreum, and Cornus florida are prevalent in the understory. The herbaceous flora, though patchy and fairly low in cover, is impressively diverse. Community composition, and to some extent soil chemistry, suggest that underlying mafic rocks influence vegetation on this slope.