Using Prescribed Fire and Biosolids Applications as Grassland Management Tools: Do Wildlife Respond?

Prescribed burning is a management tool commonly used in forested ecosystems in the southeastern United States, but the influence of this method on grassland vegetation and wildlife in this geographic region are unknown. During 2009–2015, we conducted a study to determine if the application of prescribed burning and/or long-term biosolids applications have altered plant communities and/or wildlife use of grassland areas at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, Havelock, NC. We monitored vegetation growth, measured plant community composition, and documented wildlife activity in four study plots for 3 year after the implementation of annual winter prescribed burns. Prescribed burning reduced the amount of litter, increased bare ground during spring and altered the plant community composition relative to areas that were not burned. We observed similar ( P  = 0.55) total birds per 3-min survey using prescribed burn treatment plots (5.6 ± 0.6 birds; x¯ ± SE) and unburned (5.0 ± 0.5 birds) plots. Few species-specific differences in avian use of prescribed burned and unburned grasslands were found. In contrast, white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus ) use of areas that were burned in winter, as well as the adjacent unburned areas, was drastically reduced. Winter prescribed burning appeared to remove forage plants at the time of year deer would use them the most. Our findings suggest that prescribed burning, with and without biosolids, might be a viable grassland management tool to alter wildlife use of grassland areas, specifically white-tailed deer; however, similar research at additional locations should be conducted.