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
90
%
Shrub Cover
15
%
Field Cover
50
%
Nonvascular Cover
1
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
The forest community here, located on the gentle north facing slope of a saddle on the Middle Mountain crest, is a secondary stand which regenerated following logging in about 1920. Several old logging roads converge in the saddle and much of area may have been cleared as a staging area during the timber harvest. Currently, red oak (Quercus rubra) dominates the canopy, with lesser amounts of red maple (Acer rubrum), black birch (Betula lenta) and black cherry (Prunus serotina) present. A number of old rotting bole indicate the former importance of American chestnut (Castanea dentata) prior to its demise from the blight. A thicket of 10 m tall beech suckers also occupies part of the plot. The herbaceous layer shows a strong pattern of zonation, with dense hayscented fern (Dennstaedtia punctilobula) covering some of the area, sparse sedges (Carex woodii) covering other parts and little or no herbaceous growth under beech.