Browsing Patterns of White-Tailed Deer Following Increased Timber Harvest and a Decline in Population Density
Table 2
Percent of available twigs browsed (PATB), relative abundance (RA), relative use (RU), and white-tailed deer selection for woody browse species on the MeadWestvaco Wildlife and Ecosystem Research Forest, Randolph County, West Virginia during summer 2007.
Species
PATB
RA
RU
Usea
Blackberry (Rubus spp.)
5.12
34.37
40.40
Greater
Birch (Betula spp.)
6.33
12.33
17.93
Greater
Pin cherry (Prunus pennsylvanica)
7.07
4.04
6.57
Greater
Sassafras (Sassafras albidum)
11.45
1.44
3.79
Greater
American Beech (Fagus grandifolia)
6.73
2.20
3.40
Greater
Blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica)
9.86
0.39
0.88
Greater
Sugar maple (Acer saccharum)
5.12
3.76
5.30
Equal
Red maple (Acer rubrum)
5.11
4.52
4.42
Equal
Oak (Quercus spp.)
3.94
2.38
2.15
Equal
Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis)
4.13
0.67
0.63
Equal
Black cherry (Prunus serotina)
3.76
5.99
5.18
Equal
Greenbrier (Smilax spp.)
1.39
15.08
4.80
Less
Yellow-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera)
0.29
3.77
0.25
Less
Striped maple (Acer pennsylvanicum)
1.46
5.28
1.77
Less
Other
2.92
3.77
2.53
Less
RU values were significantly greater than, less than, or equal to RA values
