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
5
m
Tree Cover
90
%
Shrub Cover
25
%
Field Cover
40
%
Nonvascular Cover
5
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Plot location: Approximately 100 meters N of US Highway 29 at a point 0.8 km ENE of jct. with I-66.
The plot is located in oak-hickory "flatwoods" of the northern Virginia Triassic Basin. Quercus alba, Carya ovalis, and Carya alba are the principal overstory species. An understory component of Juniperus virginiana is indicative of past grazing, logging, or other canopy-opening disturbances. Cornus florida was formerly the dominant small tree/ shrub but has been recently devastated by the fungal pathogen, dogwood anthracnose. The herb layer is dominated by low Vaccinium stamineum but contains a number of low-cover forbs and graminoids. This stand contains good oak and hickory recruitment, and lacks the understory of Acer rubrum that has developed under many Piedmont oak forests.
