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
28
m
Shrub Height
6
m
Field Height
1
m
Tree Cover
90
%
Shrub Cover
70
%
Field Cover
8
%
Nonvascular Cover
0.5
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
This plot is located in one of a very few areas in the City of Chesapeake with sandy soils. The habitat is a low, fluvial-estuarine "ridge" of sand that lies along the southeast side of Deer Creek upstream of its confluence with the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River. The site is forested with an equally unusual stand of mixed oaks (Quercus falcata, Q. nigra, Q. velutina) occurring over a dense shrub layer dominated by Kalmia latifolia and Hamamelis virginiana, two species that are very uncommon in the Embayed Region of far southeastern Virginia. Other characteristic species of this stand include Acer rubrum, Symplocos tinctoria, and Galax urceolata.