Planted pine (Pinus spp.) comprises nearly 10% of the total land cover in the state of Mississippi. Often, understory structure is limited in this system. Thus, managers use a variety of management practices to improve understory biomass and structure. I assessed the impacts of common forest management practices (canopy reduction, prescribed fire, and selective herbicide application) and their combined effects on aspects of community structure. More specifically, I assessed impacts of disturbance intensity on non-native plant invasions, and evaluated how microscale vegetation characteristics influenced use by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and wild turkey (Mealagris gallopavo). Combining canopy reductions with prescribed fire, which closely mimicked historical intermediate disturbance intensities in this vegetation type, led to the greatest invasion resistance due to high abundances of native plants. Both deer and turkey increased use in areas with high levels of understory cover. Coupling canopy reductions with prescribed fire created the most favorable conditions for both species.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:MSSTATE/oai:scholarsjunction.msstate.edu:td-5396 |
| Date | 04 May 2018 |
| Creators | Chance, Donald Paul |
| Publisher | Scholars Junction |
| Source Sets | Mississippi State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Theses and Dissertations |
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