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
30
m
Shrub Height
6
m
Field Height
5
m
Tree Cover
90
%
Shrub Cover
25
%
Field Cover
55
%
Nonvascular Cover
1
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
The plot is located on a lower slope bench above Passage Creek. The site is highly acidic but surprisingly diverse floristically. Vegetation is a fairly young forest with mixed overstory. Pinus strobus is important here and in similar sites along Passage Creek, but Tsuga canadensis is absent from this part of drainage. Although Quercus alba and Q. montana are present in the overstory, there is poor recruitment of these species, and the understory tree layers are dominated by Betula lenta, Pinus strobus, and Carya alba. The herb layer features high cover of several woody species, including Vaccinium spp., Rhododendron periclymenoides, Rubus hispidus, Parthenocissus quinquefolius, and Acer rubrum seedlings. The lower-lying tream bottom supports similar vegetation with denser, taller Kalmia latifolia and pockets of hydrophytic acidophiles such as Osmunda cinnamomea.