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
Plot Quality Fields:
Plot Validation Level
(2) classification plot: sufficient for inclusion in a classification revision
Overall Plot Vegetation Fields:
Tree Cover
70
%
Shrub Cover
50
%
Field Cover
15
%
Nonvascular Cover
1
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
The plot represents a nutrient poor type of northern hardwood forest which often occurs on south or southwest facing slopes in the Allegheny Mountain/Laurel Fork area. The vegetation of these sites is dominated by young beech (Fagus grandifolia), with admixtures of Red maple (Acer rubrum), black birch (Betula lenta), black cherry (Prunus serotina) and a few other trees. Shrub and herbaceous cover in these sites is very sparse and usually dominated by beech sprouts.
The beech dominating the canopy of this plot appears to be an even age stand which resulted from suckering or fire killed cull trees after logging in the 1920s. Currently, this stand is undergoing a serious decline from beech bark disease, caused by infestation of beech scale and subsequent infection by Nectria fungi. Scale masses, cankers and/or branch die back were evident on most trees in the plot and a few trees were dead. Many of the small beech sprouts and saplings also appeared to be afflicted. Measured trees in plot (dbh in cm.): Fagus grandifolia (35,29,28,27), Acer rubrum (54,43).
