Trophic loading capacity of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus, Zimmermann, 1780)

The investigation was carried out in the Tibisi locality of the Minas de Matahambre Agroforestry Company, in 3 formations of pine forests and semideciduous forest, considering the characteristics of the arboreal and shrub layer, during the low rainy season (lower biomass production) of November to April and from May to October (maximum biomass production). One of the bases for the proper management of O. virginianus is to determine the carrying capacity of the habitat, as well as the botanical composition of the diet of the species on which it feeds. The density and coverage of the tree species and the density of the shrub species were evaluated with the method of quadrants centered on a point, the coverage of the shrub species with the method of plots of 4 x 4 m and the production of biomass with the method of Adelaide. The biomass production of the species used by the deer in the low rainy season did not present a significant difference between vegetation types, according to the Tukey test (a = 0.05). However, for the rainy season a significant difference was found in the gallery forest with respect to the rest of the plant formations. For the rainy season (183 days) the carrying capacity that the area can support is 4.3 deer x ha, feeding on vegetable groups (trees, shrubs and lianas), distributed in the four types of forests. During the less rainy season the available dry matter only tolerates 1.2 deer x ha.