Influence of Fertilizer Nitrogen Source on Deer Browsing and Chemical Composition of Nursery-Grown Douglas-Fir

摘要

Effects of nursery fertilization of year-old Douglas-fir seedlings with ammonium sulfate, calcium nitrate, and urea on browsing by black tail deer, and chemical properties were compared. Fertilizers were applied at 56 kg N/ha in May and again in September, and seedlings were harvested in November. Seedlings from the different treatments were equally browsed by penned deer. Chemical analyses of shoots indicated significant differences due to N source only in manganese and sulfur contents. However, the larger size of urea- and nitrate-fertilized plants indicated that their shoots contained higher quantities of the majority of the chemicals determined.