Knowledge of the impacts of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus; hereafter deer) as dominant herbivores throughout the Southeastern United States of America is lacking. To address this, three paired experimental units of exclosures and controls were constructed in 2000 on three Wildlife Management Areas across Mississippi within the ecoregions of the Upper Coastal Plain, Lower Coastal Plain, and the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. Vegetation was sampled in the summers of 2000, 2005, and 2021 including vegetation structure, canopy coverage, basal area, and species composition. Additionally, in 2005 and 2021, biomass was sampled to determine potential impacts on nutritional carrying capacity. Among the three study sites, vegetation metrics followed successional trends and were not influenced by herbivory or lack thereof. Additionally, regional differences in nutritional carrying capacity seemed to be of greater importance than herbivory. This research illustrates the difference in effects of deer by region and forest type.

Prescribed fire is commonly used to manage white-tailed deer habitat. However, nutrition is still limited during the summer for deer in the Southeast and prescribed fire is commonly restricted to the dormant season. Knowledge of fire phenology effects on summer nutrient availability is relatively unknown. Stump sprouts may also affect available nutrition, which could be important when managing for summer nutrition. To address this summer nutritional stress period, I examined impacts prescribed fire phenology and mechanical stump sprouting had on summer nutritional carrying capacity for deer. Results indicated implementing prescribed fire in both dormant and growing-seasons led to increased summer nutrient availability on the landscape level by increasing forage quality and quantity. Mechanically creating stump sprouts from woody plants led to increased available nutrition on a localized level. Combining these management actions to target summer nutritional stress periods can better help deer meet nutritional demands and reach their full potential.