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<blockquote data-quote="BSK" data-source="post: 5008405" data-attributes="member: 17"><p>As an example of some of the things I look for when assessing a property in late winter, I tend to seek out specific "indicator" plants - plants that I know deer preference for and have seen in all levels of deer usage. Two of my favorite indicator plants are Japanese honeysuckle - the vine, not the bush (<em>Lonicera japonica)</em>, and Greenbrier (<em>Smilax</em>). Japanese honeysuckle is highly preferred by deer in winter. It is one of the first plants to show excessive browse pressure. So in late winter I look to see how heavily browsed this plant is in the area. The only problem with Japanese Honeysuckle it that deer have browsed it out of existence in some parts of TN! So a lack of honeysuckle is usually an indicator deer densities were too high in that area in the past. Because it is lower on the deer preference list than honeysuckle, Greenbrier is far more ubiquitous in TN. Looking at how intensely greenbrier has been browsed in late winter tells you how much deer were relying on "moderate" quality foods during the winter. What I'm looking for on the greenbrier is how much of the feathery branches have been browsed away. Seeing some of these thin outer branches bitten off is normal. But seeing most of the greenbrier eaten back to the main stalk, or even worse only main stalks bitten down to a foot off the ground, is not a good sign at all.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="BSK, post: 5008405, member: 17"] As an example of some of the things I look for when assessing a property in late winter, I tend to seek out specific "indicator" plants - plants that I know deer preference for and have seen in all levels of deer usage. Two of my favorite indicator plants are Japanese honeysuckle - the vine, not the bush ([I]Lonicera japonica)[/I], and Greenbrier ([I]Smilax[/I]). Japanese honeysuckle is highly preferred by deer in winter. It is one of the first plants to show excessive browse pressure. So in late winter I look to see how heavily browsed this plant is in the area. The only problem with Japanese Honeysuckle it that deer have browsed it out of existence in some parts of TN! So a lack of honeysuckle is usually an indicator deer densities were too high in that area in the past. Because it is lower on the deer preference list than honeysuckle, Greenbrier is far more ubiquitous in TN. Looking at how intensely greenbrier has been browsed in late winter tells you how much deer were relying on "moderate" quality foods during the winter. What I'm looking for on the greenbrier is how much of the feathery branches have been browsed away. Seeing some of these thin outer branches bitten off is normal. But seeing most of the greenbrier eaten back to the main stalk, or even worse only main stalks bitten down to a foot off the ground, is not a good sign at all. [/QUOTE]
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