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
37
m
Shrub Height
5
m
Field Height
3
m
Tree Cover
90
%
Shrub Cover
80
%
Field Cover
85
%
Nonvascular Cover
0.5
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
The plot captures a rich mesophytic forest on a gentle toe at upper edge of floodplain. The "toe" is a slightly elevation alluvial fan built up at the base of a tributary ravine located just to the south. The site is flooded infrequently, perhaps every 10-20 years in major floods. The environmental setting and vegetation of this plot are somewhat transitional between the mesophytic lower-slope forests with Acer saccharum and the well-drained Platanus / Mertensia floodplain forests. It appears to be equivalent to Acer saccharum-dominated floodplain stands documented by Chris Lea on the Maryland side.