Composition of southern Appalachian forests are influenced by disturbance and topography. This study examined six stands in southwestern Virginia. Within each stand, a 0.3-ha plot was established, and all trees and saplings were measured and aged. Burned stands had lower densities of saplings and small trees, but appeared to have greater Quercus regeneration. Ice damage from the 1994 ice storm was most evident in Pinus strobus saplings. A stand on old coal-mine slag appeared to be experiencing a slower rate of succession than other sites. A variety of stand development patterns were observed, but one common pattern was that oak-hickory overstories had different species in their understory, which may indicate future changes in species composition.