Biology And Management Of White-tailed Deer In Alabama

and harvest recommendations for the upcoming year. These recommendations
are based on the harvest data, the quality of the habitat,
and the cooperator’s deer management objective. Participants also can
arrange on-site visits with their biologist and receive recommendations
on how to improve the deer habitat on their property. Anyone interested
in the DMP can contact the nearest Alabama Division of Wildlife
and Freshwater Fisheries Office for more information (see APPEN-
DIX 11, page 171).
HABITAT MANAGEMENT
LIMITATIONS ON DEER HABITAT
Alabama is a diverse state in terms of deer habitat type and
quality. Some deer habitat in portions of Alabama is as good as any
found in the Southeast, while habitat in other parts of the state is as
poor as any found in other parts of the country. This variation in habitat
potential is due primarily to soil type and land use practices.
There are six major soil provinces in Alabama—the Coastal
Plains, the Prairies (Black Belt), the Major Floodplains and Terraces,
the Piedmont Plateau, the Limestone Valleys and Uplands, and the
Appalachian Plateau. Within each of these soil provinces are many
different soil types. Soils of extremely high quality and others of extremely
poor quality may exist in the same soil province. In general,
areas such as the Black Belt and the Major Floodplains and Terraces
have much more fertile and productive soils than other regions such as
the Coastal Plain and Appalachian Plateau. Plants take the nutrients
from the soil and pass them on to the deer and other animals that feed
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