BROOKHAVEN — Opportunities to improve habitat abound across Lincoln County. Wild turkeys, quail, deer, rabbits and non-game species can all benefit from the intensive management of old field habitats. 

Similar to timber management, disturbance through fire and herbicide are useful in managing old fields. Disking is another management tool which when applied at different times can produce different plant community responses. 

The hardest part of any habitat management project is to know when, how and where to start. Managers and hunters must have patience and be committed to continuous stewardship. It could take years before managers realize benefits from old field management. 

With any form of habitat management, every property and situation is different. It is best to set up a free private land site visit with a biologist from the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks to guide you in meeting your management goals. 

Fresh perspective and expert insight from these biologists will help land owners, managers and hunters in developing a plan to improve habitat. 

Where to start

Generally speaking, old field habitats are usually found in fallow fields and forest openings. These areas are great candidates for early successional habitat which is often needed for the early life stages for various wildlife species if they are not already being actively managed as such.

According to MDWFP, a quality early successional habitat will feature native warm season grasses, desirable forbs, broad-leafed herbaceous plants and shrubs. Importantly, the area needs to have open structure at the ground level to allow quail and turkey poults to move around while providing overhead cover. 

Intensive, active habitat management of early successional communities can provide a diverse range of plants. It is often best to divide a field up in sections so they can be disturbed on a rotating basis and provide different types of cover. 

While turkeys will use cow pastures and mowed fields, those fields do not provide the necessary cover needed for nesting or brood rearing. It is possible to balance cattle production and managing habitat for wildlife by setting aside a section of field. Management of old fields does not include brush hogging or mowing. 

How to manage

Fire, herbicide and disking are all effective tools in managing old fields and are often used in conjunction with each other to reach desirable results. For example, to use prescribed fire a manager would disk a firebreak around the area they hope to burn. 

The disked firebreak would provide brooding cover during the next growing season. A herbicide application would control unwanted non-native grasses, invasive plants and problematic hardwood species in the unit post burn. 

As mentioned before, dividing the old field into sections for rotational disturbance is important because different stages of plant succession are needed by wildlife. According to a Natural Resources Conservation Services guide for light disking in the southeast, disking of annual plant communities in fields should be done on a one to three year rotation. Strip disking is recommended to maintain a mosaic of habitat with brooding and nesting cover in close proximity. 

Prior to disking, especially in areas where fescue and bermuda grass have been established, it is best to burn and follow-up with a herbicide treatment before disking. Disking can be done in the fall and early spring. It is important that managers complete spring disking prior to the reproduction season for wildlife species such as deer and turkeys, in other words, disk by late March. 

Seasonally, disking will promote forbs and legumes such as ragweed and partridge pea when done in the fall. Spring disking will promote annual grasses such as millet and foxtails. 

Prescribed fire is useful in stimulating the native seed bank, controlling undesirable thatch and undesirable hardwoods such as sweet gum. 

Fire can be used on a rotational basis and at different times of the year for various results. A dormant season burn often promotes native warm season grasses while a late summer burn controls undesirable hardwoods. 

Restoring NWSG

One aspect of old field management is the restoration of native warm season grasses. It is important to note that livestock owners can use restoration of native warm season grasses to benefit livestock and wildlife. 

Nonnative grasses such as bermuda and fescue were introduced to stabilize the soil and for livestock grazing. Mississippi State University Extension stated in a publication that non-native grasses are poor habitat for wildlife while native warm season grasses provide needed food and cover. 

Examples of native warm season grasses include big bluestem, little bluestem, broomsedge, indiangrass, switchgrass, and eastern gamagrass. Forbs associated with these grasses include partridge peas, beggarweed and black-eyed susans. 

Again, rotational disking and burning will help restore native warm season grasses to the landscape. Herbicide treatments may be needed to eradicate bad pasture grasses. 

Native warm season grasses can also be restored in upland habitats where timber has been thinned and prescribed fire is used.