Use of Wildlife Forage Clearings by White-Tailed Deer in the Arkansas Ozarks

In a densely wooded, 243-ha enclosure in the Arkansas Ozarks deer ate sizable quantities of elban rye and Japanese honeysuckle planted on four clearings ranging in size from 0.69 to 2.31 ha. The number ofdeer observed. the amount of time spent feeding, and the amount of rye and honeysuckle eaten were all greatest during the fall and winter of a year when acorns were scarce. Some ladino clover, which was also planted on clearings, was eaten in the spring and summer. The frequency of deer visits did not vary with size of clearing, but small clearings tended to be more heavily grazed than large ones. Feeding activity was greatest during the hours from 1600 to 0400.