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
25
m
Shrub Height
6
m
Field Height
5
m
Tree Cover
80
%
Shrub Cover
70
%
Field Cover
1
%
Nonvascular Cover
4
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Chestnut oak - red oak stand with dense mountain-laurel shrub layer, on an upper-slope "nose" at the end of the Straight Mountain ridge above saddle. This is near the upper limit of oak/heath vegetation, which extends to the bottom of the saddle and then further down the southeast flank of the mountain. The sampled stand has probably been fire-suppressed for an extended period; red maple and white pine are fire-intolerant understory invaders.