EFFECTS OF PRESCRIBED FIRE ON DEER FORAGE AND NUTRIENTS

Abstract

Prescribed burning is a widely applied technique in the United States (Komarek 1981), although it is used most extensively in the Southeast and Northwest (Johnson 1984). The most common objective of the practice in southern forests is hazard reduction (Davis and Cooper 1963). Hazardous fuel management is a mandate in southern pine (Pinus spp.) silviculture, and prescribed fire is the most economical method of dealing with the problem (Cooper 1975, Moak et al. 1977). Prescription burning also is the most frequently applied silvicultural technique used in coastal pine management because its application is recommended on a 3-year schedule in sapling and older stands (Sackett 1975). Southern forest habitats for white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) reportedly are improved by prescribed fire (Perkins 1971, Stransky and Harlow 1981). However, Bendell (1974) raised doubt that published data supported any general principal about effects of fire on forages and concomitant animal population responses. Johnson (1984:86) stated, Almost all of the evidence accumulated so far on fire effects is anecdotal and is not necessarily appropriate for broadscale application. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of prescribed fire as applied in a normal management scheme on the production and nutritive value of deer forage. The study was limited to winter burning in loblolly pine (P. taeda) stands in the Flatlands Coastal Plains Province. This province contains 28% of South Carolina's total forest land (Myers et al. 1986) of which about 30% is in commercially available loblolly pine stands (Craver 1978, Sheffield and Hutchinson 1979). STUDY AREA AND METHODS