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
38
m
Shrub Height
6
m
Field Height
8
m
Tree Cover
80
%
Shrub Cover
55
%
Field Cover
60
%
Nonvascular Cover
5
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Plot location: floodplain on east side of Sugarland Run in Runnymede Park, 0.9 miles north of junction of routes 606 and 680.
Field estimate from topo: (UTME): 295000 (UTMN): 4317081.
Plot is located in a seasonally flooded, backswamp/depression area of the floodplain. Based on watermarks on trees, maximum flooding depth is between 15 and 20 cm above the hollow bottom. Vegetation is an open palustrine forest typical of similar habitats of the northern Virginia Triassic Basin. Quercus bicolor, including some individuals > 80 cm DBH, dominates the overstory; Q. palustrine is an associate overstory tree outside the plot. Acer rubrum and Carpinus caroliniana are the understory dominants, while Carex tribuloides and Cinna arundinacea contribute the highest individual covers to the herb layer. This habitat is located near major suburban areas, which has contributed to the spread of Lonicera japonica and other exotics.