Analysis of White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) Forage Nutrient Content across Northern Appalachian USDA Ecological Sites.

United States Dept. of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS) Ecological Sites (ESs) separate landscapes into units based on climate, soils, topography, and vegetative potential. Preliminary ES delineations and State-and-Transition models have been developed for northern Appalachian forests by Ireland and Drohan (2014). Ecological Sites can be used as a framework to interpret the dynamics between vegetation and animals. In the northern Appalachians the white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) is a keystone herbivore which selectively browses for palatable vegetation. Since ESs utilize soil chemical and physical properties to develop ES delineations, we hypothesize that ESs can be used as a framework to interpret forage quality for ungulate browsers. Forage nutrients (P, Ca, and Na) are linked to essential bodily functions in deer including antlerogenesis and lactation. Thus, if unique ESs are tied to soil chemistry, ESs can be used to explain differences in forage quality across a landscape and potentially predict deer health. The purpose of this project is to determine differences in palatable forage nutrient quality, specifically Medeola virginiana (Indian cucumber) and Maianthemum canadense (Canada mayflower), across soil chemical gradients between, and within, ESs of northern Appalachian forests. Improved understanding of soil-vegetative-wildlife dynamics in northern Appalachian forests will help advance regional ESs and clarify how useful they might be in guiding land management decisions.