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When you forage at a buffet, you have preferences—those favorites that beckon your attention. Sometimes, these preferences may not be the most nutritious, but they may be the most palatable or tasty, or vice versa. Livestock and wildlife are no exception; they have preferences in what they like to forage upon, too. More importantly, what’s available and in-season will be important factors in determining what’s for dinner – for you, me, and white-tailed deer.
Unlike grazing animals such as cattle and sheep that feed primarily on grasses and lower growing vegetation, “browsing” is a type of herbivory in which animals will feed on the leaves, twigs, buds, and fruit such as acorns (or mast), and the fleshy fruits of woody vegetation. To some degree, all animals will “browse.” The most abundant of our native wildlife browsers is the white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). Research shows that only 5–10% of a deer’s diet comes from grasses, and this is usually seasonally based when tender new growth emerges. A white-tailed deer’s diet primarily comes from forbs and browse plants, while their daily forage intake is about 3.5% of their body weight. For a 100 pound deer, it will likely consume 3.5 pounds of weeds, browse, and whatever else it finds on the rangeland “table.” That is one deer; how many deer do you have coming for dinner?
If you have a browse line, then you may have a problem! Over time, animal preferences and unrestricted browsing can reduce highly desired browse plants while allowing less desirable plants to increase and become a nuisance. This is the main difference between having good browse that offers habitat by providing food, cover, and shelter for wildlife and having a brush problem! Just as ranchers should monitor grasses for proper grazing use, they should also monitor the woody vegetation to ensure that it is sustainable, and use is balanced.
Is there enough food for dinner? Browsing is also influenced by plant availability and seasonal growth. How do you know if there’s a problem? How are browse plants evaluated? The time-tested conservation practice of?take half, leave half is a guiding principle that works well with the management of woody vegetation just as with grasslands. Steve Nelle, retired Wildlife Biologist, has classified wildlife preferences for woody vegetation in Central Texas as Class I-IV (Table 1). This can be a good tool to help you determine what plants are the most inviting for white-tailed deer and other browsers. If you want a less palatable buffet line for the white-tailed deer, then opt for Class III and IV plants. Either way, as a native plant enthusiast, this information will definitely help you make informed decisions about the health and sustainability of the woody vegetation on your land.
You may have to close the buffet line! Since a white-tailed deer’s diet is made up mostly of browse plants and mast/fruit, knowing how much of the browse plants they are eating is important. Take a closer look at those plants, and they’ll give you some clues. These guidelines can help you to evaluate the health of your woody plants as the growing season is coming to an end, and as we go into the winter months.
- Following the growing season, 50 percent or less of the current season’s growth of twigs, leaves, and fruit (by weight) has been utilized (e.g., foraged upon).
- During the dormant season, 65 percent or less of available twigs on deciduous browse and leaves of evergreens has been foraged upon.
Look at the photos of Inland Ceanothus (Ceanothus herbaceus) in Figures 1-3. This native shrub is in the Buckthorn Family and often referred to as Jersey tea or Redroot. These photographs were taken in spring and fall of the same year. Tender young growth and reproductive capability looks good in the early spring (Figure 1). Notice the blunted stems (Figure 2) and lack of terminal growth in the photo taken later in the fall? Now, look at the entire plant in Figure 3. Tender growth of plants such as Inland ceanothus is highly nutritious and a delectable treat. As new growth is consistently browsed upon, a hedging effect will occur. Plants that should be taller and more robust become more shrub-like and appear stunted losing their vigor after years of uncontrolled herbivory (Figure 3). If half or more of the plant stand appears “hedged” back, then this browsing would be rated as moderate to severe.
So, when browsing occurs, our native woody plants can be limbed-up or hedged back. Foraging by “browsers” can occur from ground-level up to six feet or higher. Want to protect those valued natives? Use of exclosures can assist in monitoring for proper use and to decrease pressure on more desirable browse (e.g., Class I and II plants listed on Table 1).
All photos by Melissa Sturdivant
Climbing woody vines are like the dessert end of the buffet line, especially the tender shoots or tendrils of new growth. Greenbrier, Smilax bona-nox (Figure 4), although painful for many of us, is a delectable treat for white-tailed deer. Tendrils of greenbrier are a tasty treat in a tossed salad, too. But you have to beat the deer to the new growth. Carolina Snailseed (Cocculus carolinus) is often mistaken as greenbrier. Not sure what you have, Greenbrier or Carolina Snailseed (Figures 5-6)? How can you tell these native vines apart? Unlike Greenbrier, snailseed has “fuzzy” textured leaves, whereas Greenbrier leaves are smooth to the touch. Also, you won’t find those pesky thorns on snailseed like those found on Greenbrier.
Something is always feeding on our native vegetation whether it is insects, upland game birds, songbirds, native or exotic mammals. How much is enough or when does it become too much? Monitor the use of current and dormant growth and look for evidence and determine the extent of hedging and browse lines. Conservation and moderation, whether it is us at the buffet or the wildlife feeding on our native rangelands, this is the key to managing our natural resources as well as sustaining them.
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