Habitat Management

1
Habitat Management Home Range

• Original Power Point Created by
• Andy Harrison

Modified by the GA Agriculture Education
Curriculum Office July 2002
2
Habitat Components

• Three requirements for Whitetails
• Brush
• Cover
• Water
• Deer thrive in areas of natural disturbance
• This habit was well understood by American
  Indians
• Disturbances include tornadoes, fires, and
  hurricanes
• Disturbances allow for new growth

3
Browse

• Natural Succession
• Succession a stepwise, unidirectional process
  in which one ecological community prepares the
  way for and is replaced by another.
• Example destruction of old growth forest
  prepares way for new growth
• Plants that were not growing now have the
  opportunity to grow.

4
Cover

• Allows deer to remain hidden until darkness
• In northern climates allows for protection from
  the elements
• In hotter climates provides shade from the sun

5
Water

• Some believe a half gallon of water is required
  per day
• Important for digestive processes
• Sources
• Ponds
• Streams
• Succulent vegetation
• Water needs to be available within ½ mile
  distance

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Arrangement of Components

• Edge
• Interspersion

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Brush

• Also called browse
• Whitetail usually prefer forbs weeds
• More palatable and nutritious
• Not available throughout year
• Production tied to rainfall
• Browse is always present
• May not be equal to forbs in nutrition but is a
  consistent source of food

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Browse ( Brush )

• Includes baby trees and shrubs
• Deer pick and choose plants that provide optimum
  nutrition
• Quality determined by
• Plant species
• Time of year
• Age of plants
• Rainfall
• Light reaching forest floor

9
Edge

• Occurs when the needs for certain types of food
  and cover come together
• For example, where the edges meet

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Types of Edge

• Inherent natural transition between habitat
  types, includes
• Transition from upland to bottom land
• Interface between forest and lakes
• Drastic soil type changes

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Types of Edge

• Induced Edge occurs after the actions of man
  have changed the forest
• Clear-cut forest adjacent to uncut forest
• Soft Edge overlap between two entirely
  different habitat types
• Brush type plants between forest and fields

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Edge Species

• The whitetail is an edge species - the amount
  of edge affects both the quality and quantity of
  the deer on the property.

13
Interspersion

• How the habitat is arranged on the landscape
• Corners where three or more habitat types meet
• Corners are the 1 place to harvest deer

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Openings

• Openings provide high quality forbs and cool
  season grasses
• Optimum size - greater than five acres is less
  attractive to deer
• Shape - a long narrow power line or pipeline
  opening regardless of size

15
Opening

• Size - maximum distance across should not exceed
  100 yards
• In daylight, deer are reluctant to venture out of
  cover.
• 10 of management area should be maintained as
  permanent openings
• Must be mowed annually usually late summer
• Must be fertilized in spring with a balanced
  fertilizer
• In the summer, apply ammonium nitrate

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Standard Management Practices

• Planned disturbances
• Fire
• Mechanical
• Herbicide

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Fire

• Wild occur either through mans carelessness or
  naturally occurring (such as in the case of a
  lightning strike)
• Prescribed well planned least expensive
  disturbance compared to mechanical and herbicide
• Best to perform late winter or early spring
  minimizes impact on new vegetation

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Fire

• Interval between burns depends on soil and
  climate
• Dry climates less frequently
• Wetter areas or heavier rainfall areas more
  frequently
• Site index soils ability to grow trees
• High index equals a greater potential to grow
  forage

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Basic Rules

• Never burn at interval less than every other year
• When in doubt, burn when woody vegetation is
  between 4 6 feet
• Firebreaks - should be 12 ft or more
• Permanent firebreaks are useful for supplemental
  feeding
• Do not burn adjacent areas in same season

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Additional Benefits of Burning

• Keeps vegetation in reach of deer
• Releases nutrients
• Produces new succulent growth sprouts

21
Disadvantages to Burning

• Public sentiment may lead to restrictions
• Smoke particularly near highways or
  metropolitan areas
• Must have adequate sunlight reaching ground

22
Thinning Timber

• Allows sunlight to reach forest floor
• Basal area total area within an acre covered by
  trunks of trees
• Must maintain 70 80 sq. feet per acre of basal
  area
• Intensive forestlands 150 sq. feet per acre can
  have no forage

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Intermediate Treatments

• Aimed at maintaining cover production as
  succession proceeds
• Example maintaining growth of feed stuffs until
  the main replacement forage grows in.

24
Mast Production Wildlife Stand Improvement

• Not all hardwoods are alike
• Some better than others
• Distribution is important
• Some are sporadic and unreliable

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Factors That Influence Mast

• Diversity of mast producing species
• White oaks
• Red oaks
• Age of stand production usually 25 years
• Density of trees - crowded crowns are the low
  producers
• Site fertility and index
• Recent fruiting habits

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Fertilization

• Has positive effect on native forage
• Adds phosphorous nitrogen
• Soil test to check pH should be performed
• Can add lime if necessary
• Apply fertilizer to
• Road sides
• Permanent openings

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Streamside Connection

• Evolved in association with drainage
• Makes excellent landmarks for travel
• Early travelers navigated along rivers
• Deer stay closer to drainages in the summer and
  fall and farther away in the spring and winter

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Streamside Management Zones

• Also known as SMZs
• They are treated as separate management zones

29
Home Range Estimates

• Determined by focusing on movement habits in your
  house
• Can be determined by grid mapping of movement
• Core Activity range a well defined area of
  routine activity or movement

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Home Range Size

• Can range from 100 acres to several thousand
• Bucks range size is often 2X larger than does
• Home range maximizes in the fall and during the
  rut season
• Home range size increases as animal becomes older
• The land required is dictated by the deer but
  also by management objectives

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Application of Habitat

• Size of management area
• Food plots 1-5 of area
• Cover 30 of area
• Permanent openings 10 of area
• The rest of the area should be for food
  production
• Timber
• Range management
• Mast Production