Biology And Management Of White-tailed Deer In Alabama

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ity of these preferred plant species be improved, but the food also will be returned to a level within reach of the deer. HABITAT MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES PRESCRIBED FIRE Historically, fire was a natural occurrence in southern forests. Many of the plants that grow in these forests require periodic fires to survive. Other plant species flourish following a fire due to the reduction in competition from other plants, scarification of seeds, and exposure of mineral soil. Many of the plants that grow well following a burn also are excellent deer foods. Using prescribed fire in open pine stands on a regular rotation can greatly improve the quality of these habitats for white-<strong>tailed</strong> deer, as well as many other game and non-game animals. Photo by Bobby Watkins. Although natural fires are not nearly as common as they once were, the use of prescribed fire still can give the same benefits when managing deer habitat. A fairly cool-burning fire is desired when deer habitat improvement is the goal. This means burning during the late winter months, usually from January through early March. Prescribed fire can be used 106
during the spring and summer, but the risks of destroying bobwhite quail and wild turkey nests or killing some of the recently hatched young are very real possibilities. The risk of having a fire that is too hot also is greater at this time. This can result in the damage or even death of mature trees. Not all sites are suited for prescribed fire. Many species of hardwoods, such as the various oaks (Quercus spp.) and other important mast producers, are only moderately tolerant of fire and some may be lost if a hot fire is allowed to burn around them. To protect these valuable trees, plowed fire lines or some other type of firebreak should be placed around streamside management zones (SMZs) and other areas containing mast-producing hardwoods. Areas best suited for prescribed fire are pine stands with fairly open canopies, such as recently thinned stands. The various pine species (Pinus spp.) found in <strong>Alabama</strong> all are tolerant of fire and thinning allows sunlight to reach the forest floor. Many high quality food plants are able to flourish once these thinned stands have been cleaned up with a prescribed fire. On the other hand, burning in a closed canopy pine stand is usually ineffective. Even if the ground litter is removed and mineral soil is exposed following a fire, most plants are not able to grow because of the lack of sunlight reaching the forest floor in closed canopy forests. Most pine stands can be burned once the trees reach about eight to ten years of age (Yarrow and Yarrow 1999). Burning sooner can kill many of the young pines. For deer habitat management purposes, stands should be burned on a three to five year rotation or when the woody vegetation reaches a height of four to six feet. Burning more frequently 107
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Biology and Management of White-tai
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Table of Contents PREFACE .........
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JAWBONE EXTRACTION ................
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors gratefu
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PREFACE White-tailed deer (Odocoile
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TAXONOMY The white-tailed deer is o
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darker winter coat. Fawns are born
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Deer have many glands that are used
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tiates antler growth. The secretion
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DEER BEHAVIOR VOCALIZATION AND COMM
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Among bucks, two males of equal sta
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out the Southeast have reported dis
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check their scrapes regularly to de
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The sex ratio of fawns at birth is
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(midges) are highest. To date there
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is extremely unlikely to fall prey
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and even fawn production—will be,
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and living body tissue. Many of the
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trace elements are important to a d
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are compatible with other objective
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tural crops may be used heavily as
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providing nutritious cool-season fo
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SPATIAL ARRANGEMENT OF HABITAT COMP
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Soil quality has a significant impa
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Determining CC for deer habitat can
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cycle of poor deer herd and habitat
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dam and her new fawns later in the
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POPULATION DENSITY The number of an
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determining exactly how many indivi
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searching for breeding opportunitie
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comes intense with improved buck ag
Page 65 and 66: the 1960s, deer were restocked in m
Page 67 and 68: sive quality deer management progra
Page 69 and 70: factors such as reproductive succes
Page 71 and 72: egulation of deer populations ensur
Page 73 and 74: The above graphs represent the hypo
Page 75 and 76: acceptable hunting satisfaction bec
Page 77 and 78: proportioned. Clearly, all the elem
Page 79 and 80: hunters to see numbers of deer whil
Page 81 and 82: In suboptimal habitats, body weight
Page 83 and 84: changes occur in herd structure and
Page 85 and 86: product of QDM and not a major goal
Page 87 and 88: offset the influences of dispersal
Page 89 and 90: Two controversial questions related
Page 91 and 92: It appears removing spike antlered
Page 93 and 94: guarantee the superior bucks hunter
Page 95 and 96: Perhaps the most common cause of di
Page 97 and 98: tivity of the property (Woods 1999b
Page 99 and 100: may justify a modification of the d
Page 101 and 102: ces and make management recommendat
Page 103 and 104: A method for removing jawbones that
Page 105 and 106: extractor towards the deer’s nose
Page 107 and 108: spread, basal circumference, and ma
Page 109 and 110: LACTATION Checking a doe for the pr
Page 111 and 112: deer seen into more specific classi
Page 113 and 114: and harvest recommendations for the
Page 115: of the year as a comparable type fo
Page 119 and 120: HERBICIDE TREATMENT Another techniq
Page 121 and 122: TIMBER HARVEST Periodic removal of
Page 123 and 124: foods in any area. Fertilizer incre
Page 125 and 126: WILDLIFE OPENINGS Of all the manage
Page 127 and 128: areas. Very few of the crops common
Page 129 and 130: samples. These boxes are usually av
Page 131 and 132: ag of fertilizer, while soil test r
Page 133 and 134: Applying the Seed Seed should be ap
Page 135 and 136: cult. Many of these new crops show
Page 137 and 138: acre), and wheat (one bushel per ac
Page 139 and 140: using small portions of the opening
Page 141 and 142: able weight loss at the conclusion
Page 143 and 144: trace minerals. Another considerati
Page 145 and 146: Number 8. P-R Project W-35, Alabama
Page 147 and 148: Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Volume 2, Page
Page 149 and 150: ings of the Role of Genetics in Whi
Page 151 and 152: APPENDICES 141
Page 153 and 154: Appendix 1: AVERAGE BODY WEIGHT, AN
Page 155 and 156: Appendix 3: AGING DEER USING TOOTH
Page 157 and 158: Appendix 3: AGING DEER USING TOOTH
Page 159 and 160: Appendix 4: SELECTIVE ANTLERLESS DE
Page 161 and 162: Appendix 5: GUIDELINES FOR AGING LI
Page 163 and 164: Appendix 5: GUIDELINES FOR AGING LI
Page 165 and 166: Appendix 7: FIELD OBSERVATION FORM
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Appendix 9: COOL-SEASON PLANTING GU
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CRIMSON CLOVER Planting Date: Septe
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RAPE Planting Date: August 15 - Nov
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SUBTERRANEAN CLOVER Planting Date:
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Appendix 10: WARM-SEASON PLANTING G
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COWPEAS Planting Date: May 1 - July
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RAPE Planting Date: April 15 - June
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Appendix 11: CONTACT INFORMATION FO
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Appendix 12: SUGGESTED READING AND
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS Chris Cook receiv
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Biology And Management Of White-tailed Deer In Alabama

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