What is the key management technique that promotes the early successional growth deer instinctively prefer?
Answer
Light disking, prescribed fire, or timber stand improvement (TSI)
Effective land management for whitetails hinges on encouraging the production of preferred forage, which consists of young, tender forbs and browse tips—collectively known as early successional growth. This type of growth offers the highest nutritional return on investment for the deer. Practices such as light disking, which disturbs the soil surface, prescribed fire, which clears out competing mature brush, and timber stand improvement (TSI), which opens the canopy, all actively promote this preferred early successional state. These techniques ensure a continuous supply of highly digestible, nutrient-rich forage that deer instinctively seek out.
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