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
5
m
Field Height
1
m
Tree Cover
90
%
Shrub Cover
20
%
Field Cover
35
%
Nonvascular Cover
1
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
This plot was located in a fairly old stand of Quercus alba-dominated forest in an undulating "flatwoods" of the northern Piedmont Culpeper (Triassic) Basin. Underlying bedrock is sandstone or siltstone, and soils are acidic and quite low in most bases. There is virtually no oak recruitment and little of other species except Carya alba, perhaps an artifact of a period in which tree regeneration was eliminated by grazing. Increased illumination allowed by the open understory may contribute to the impressive richness of xerophytic forbs and graminoids in the patchy herb layer.