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
33
m
Shrub Height
5
m
Field Height
5
m
Tree Cover
95
%
Shrub Cover
5
%
Field Cover
55
%
Nonvascular Cover
5
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
The forest captured by this plot is probably a post-agricultural stand that has reached a mid-successional stage of maturity. The original stand consisted largely of Liriodendron tulipifera with scattered Pinus strobus, but younger recruitment of Betula lenta, Pinus strobus, Fagus grandifolia, Tsuga canadensis, and Tilia americana is now reaching the subcanopy and canopy. The site is a wide, gentle toe-slope/terrace well above the stream in Whiteoak Canyon. Numerous granitic boulders cover the site and probably constitute the substrate below the well-developed layer of loamy soil. The high cover of Amphicarpaea bracteata in the herb layer may be an artifact of selective grazing by over-populous deer.
0-2 cm: leaf and needle litter
2+ cm: medium brown loam
Disturbance Data:
Disturbance Type
Disturbance Intensity
Disturbance Comment
unknown
Rock piles adjacent, indicating probable clearing prior to 1936. Several small Tsuga canadensis snags and one Cornus florida snag in plot. Heavy deer browse.