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
29
m
Shrub Height
5
m
Field Height
8
m
Tree Cover
85
%
Shrub Cover
35
%
Field Cover
25
%
Nonvascular Cover
0.5
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
The plot captures a dry, mixed oak-hickory stand on a broad, south-facing crest of Straight Mountain. The overstory is very mixed, with no clear dominant among Quercus montana, Quercus rubra, Quercus alba, Quercus velutina, and Carya ovalis. The herb layer contains a fairly diverse representation of forbs and graminoids occurring at low cover. A long, narrow plot configuration was used to keep the sample in the crest zone and to ensure that an adequate representation of overstory species was included.