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
31
m
Shrub Height
1.5
m
Field Height
1
m
Tree Cover
90
%
Shrub Cover
1
%
Field Cover
1
%
Nonvascular Cover
5
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Plot positioned in the oldest part of a large eastern hemlock stand on a very steep, erosive bluff subtended by Bull Run. Continuous surface sheet-erosion apparently limits the establishment of woody seedlings and herbs. Tree recruitment is much denser on adjacent, convex or less steep parts of the bluff. Hardwoods, including Fagus grandifolia, Quercus montana, and Quercus alba, attain greater importance as overstory co-dominants elsewhere in the stand. Evidence of hemlock woolly adelgid is minimal at this site.
0-1 cm: needle and leaf litter
1-4 cm: very dense, tough root mat and humus
4+ cm: light brown silt loam with many small rock fragments
surface litter is much thinner than 1 cm in many places