Summer Forage Use by Tame Deer in Northern Michigan

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Abstract
The aspen (Populus tremuloides and P. grandidentata) cover type is one of the most important types for producing white-tailed deer (O. virginianus) in the northern Lake States, and maintaining it is the emphasis of deer habitat management there. The summer food habits, forage preferences and habitat use of tame deer in a mature aspen stand and an adjacent aspen clear-cut were studied. Aspen, beaked hazel (Corylus cornuta), strawberry (Fragaria virginiana), willow (Salix spp.) and choke cherry (Prunus virginiana) leaves and aster (Aster spp.) leaves and flowers averaged 66% of the monthly forage consumption in the mature stand and 80% of that in the clear-cut. Aspen leaves alone averaged nearly a quarter of the intake on both areas. Preferred food included red maple (Acer rubrum), aspen, beaked hazel, choke cherry leaves, the ripe fruit of brambles (Rubus spp.) and aster leaves and flowers. The deer spent equal time foraging in the mature stand and the clear-cut during June; they used the mature stand more during July and Aug. The quantity of food eaten per unit of time was greater in the clear-cut during July and Aug. Clear-cut aspen in small blocks on a 40 yr rotation would provide for an interspersion of age classes that may best meet the overall life requirement of deer on summer range.

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