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
7
m
Tree Cover
75
%
Shrub Cover
20
%
Field Cover
20
%
Nonvascular Cover
12
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
The bottom and lower slopes of Weakley Hollow once supported a very large, high-quality example of acidic cove forest with a mixture of eastern hemlock and various hardwoods. After 20 years of infestation by the hemlock woolly adelgid, this forest has been degraded by the death of almost all larger hemlock. Large snags and fallen boles now litter the forest floor, and numerous canopy gaps have stimulated the dense regeneration of Betula lenta and other hardwood species. This plot was positioned to avoid large snags and light gaps; thus, while it does not represent portions of the cove that were co-dominated by hemlock, it does represent a largely intact forest. There are 12 small hemlocks still alive in the plot, but their foliage is rather sparse.
