VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Vaccinium caespitosum | Dwarf Huckleberry 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Browse:  Dwarf huckleberry browse apparently provides minimal forage for
big game and domestic livestock [17,79].  This short-statured shrub may
be buried by snow and is often unavailable during much of the winter
[22].  However, certain Douglas-fir/dwarf huckleberry habitat types of
northwestern Montana, which commonly occur on relatively warm, dry sites
where snow depths are not extreme, are preferred wintering areas for
white-tailed deer, elk, and moose [6,23,62].  Lack of hiding cover may
prevent deer from using recent clearcuts dominated by dwarf huckleberry
and other low shrubs [22].

Fruit:  The sweet, attractive berries are an important food source for
many birds including the ruffed grouse, gray catbird, American robin,
and eastern bluebird [72].  The spruce grouse, ptarmigans, scarlet
tanager, bluebirds, thrushes, thrashers, titmice, blue grouse, and
towhees feed on the berries of many species of Vaccinium [51,79].  The
fruit of dwarf huckleberry is readily eaten by small mammals such as the
white-footed mouse, red fox, and fox squirrel [72,73].  Chipmunks,
skunks, the common opossum, and raccoon also consume large amounts of
huckleberries (Vaccinium spp.) [51,79].

Huckleberries (Vaccinium spp.) are an extremely important food source
for grizzly and black bears and both species typically adjust their
seasonal ranges to exploit this resource most effectively [50,88].
Bears generally move from low elevation riparian areas to middle
elevation berry fields as soon as huckleberries become ripe.  In western
Montana, grizzly bears frequent open, midseral burns at higher
elevations during late summer or fall when berries are at their peak
ripeness [50].  The dwarf huckleberry is generally less productive than
the globe huckleberry (V. globulare) and fruit tends to be smaller.
Nevertheless, dwarf huckleberry is still considered an important grizzly
bear food [89,90].  It is reported to be a "major" grizzly food in
terrestrial spruce stands of floodplain complexes in the Bob Marshall
Wilderness Area of Montana.  Bench land habitat characterized by a dwarf
huckleberry understory is extremely important to grizzly bears during
fall in parts of British Columbia [89].

Reproductive success of black bears has been correlated with the size of
huckleberry crops [50,66].  Similarly, cub survival appears to be
reduced during years of low huckleberry availability [66].  Huckleberry
crop failures increase the likelihood of bear-human encounters, as
wide-ranging, hungry bears seeking alternate food sources come into
contact with recreationists or home owners.  Damage to crops and
beehives, as well as livestock losses, typically increase during poor
huckleberry years.


PALATABILITY : 
Dwarf huckleberry browse is relatively unpalatable to most wild
ungulates and to domestic livestock [17,77].  However, berries are
highly palatable to black and grizzly bears, and to many small birds and
mammals [47].  The palatability of dwarf huckleberry has been rated as
follows [18]:
                        CO      MT      UT      WY

Cattle                 poor    poor    poor    poor
Sheep                  fair    fair    fair    fair
Horses                 poor    poor    poor    poor
Pronghorn              ----    ----    poor    poor
Elk                    ----    ----    good    good
Mule deer              ----    ----    good    good
White-tailed deer      ----    ----    ----    good
Small mammals          ----    ----    good    good
Small nongame birds    ----    ----    good    good
Upland game birds      ----    ----    good    good
Waterfowl              ----    ----    poor    poor


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Huckleberry foliage (Vaccinium spp.) is relatively high in carotene and
energy content [16].  Protein value of dwarf huckleberry browse is rated
as fair [18].  Fruits of dwarf huckleberry are sweet and contain high
concentrations of both mono- and di- saccharides [72].  Huckleberries
are high in vitamin C but low in fat [65].  The crude fat content of
dwarf huckleberry fruit averages approximately 3.80 percent [72].


COVER VALUE : 
Because of its low growth form, dwarf huckleberry provides minimal cover
for most large mammals.  However, dense thickets can serve as good cover
for smaller birds and mammals.  Grand fir (Abies grandis)/dwarf
huckleberry habitat types of central Idaho reportedly offer adequate
cover for elk and white-tailed deer [70].  Cover value of dwarf
huckleberry has been rated as follows [18]:

                       UT      WY

Pronghorn             poor    poor
Elk                   poor    poor
Mule deer             poor    poor
White-tailed deer     ----    poor
Small mammals         good    good
Small nongame birds   fair    good
Waterfowl             poor    poor


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
The dwarf huckleberry has a fibrous, spreading root system [73] and can
presumably aid in preventing soil erosion on some sites.  It is rated as
having low to moderate value for short-term rehabilitation projects and
moderate value for long-term rehabilitation [18].

Species within the genus Vaccinium can be propagated from hardwood
cuttings [15].  Dwarf huckleberry can also be grown from seed which
averages 5,300,000 per pound (11,674/g) [15,73].  Seedlings grown in the
greenhouse can be transplanted onto favorable sites 6 to 7 weeks after
emergence [15].  Seed collection and storage techniques have been
examined in detail [15].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Berries of the dwarf huckleberry are edible [41,69] but of no economic
importance [11].  Fruit is delicious when fresh or in jams and jellies
[81].  Huckleberries (Vaccinium spp.) were an important traditional food
source for many Native American peoples.  Berries of the dwarf
huckleberry are often less abundant than those of other species and were
presumably less important than those of more productive huckleberries.

Numerous cultivars of huckleberries (Vaccinium spp.) have been developed
for use as ornamentals or in garden plantings [65].  The dwarf
huckleberry can be used in landscaping and forms an attractive ground
cover [73].  It was first cultivated in 1823 [15].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Chemical control:  Huckleberries (Vaccinium spp.) exhibit variable
susceptibility to herbicides such as 2,4-D [7].

Recreational impacts:  Studies indicate that dwarf huckleberry is
moderately resistant to trampling by recreationists.  Short-term
resilience is rated as moderate [13].

Timber harvest:  Dwarf huckleberry often survives clearcutting which is
followed by broadcast burns, although the shallow rhizomes may be killed
by severe scarification [37].  Studies conducted in the Swan Valley of
northwestern Montana suggest that dwarf huckleberry responds more
favorably to clearcutting than to other methods of timber harvest.
Average cover by timber harvest method was documented as follows [23]:

             treatment              average percent cover

             untreated                      12
             clearcut                       12
             plantation                      3
             seed tree                      10
             selection                       3

Impacts of timber harvest on bears:  Despite good fruit production in
clearcuts, bears may avoid these sites unless sufficient hiding cover is
present.  The extent to which grizzly bears use clearcuts dominated by
dwarf huckleberry and other Vacciniums depends largely on the
availability of cover.  The size and shape of cutting units as well as
proximity of roads influence bear use.  In northern Idaho, black bears
avoid clearcuts, but in parts of western Washington, 18- to 25-year-old
clearcuts are used, although 9- to 14-year-old cuts are generally
avoided.  In a northern Montana study, bears used 10-year-old clearcuts
but did not utilize newer cuts [78].  Evidence suggests that grizzly
bears may prefer older clearcuts with sufficient cover and areas burned
by wildfires 25 to 60 years ago [50].  Berry production and grizzly bear
use has been poorly documented with respect to the dwarf huckleberry.
Most research efforts have focused on the blue huckleberry complex (V.
membranaceum-V. globulare) [see VACGLO].

Grizzly habitat value of huckleberry shrubfields can be increased by
permanent or appropriate seasonal road closures, by coordinating timber
harvest dates to have minimal impact on habitat use patterns, and by
considering cumulative effects of habitat modification on adjacent
areas.  Site preparation should include minimizing soil compaction,
using broadcast burns rather than piling slash to generate hot fires, or
by eliminating site preparation where possible.  Grizzly use can be
favored by retaining hiding cover through treating small, irregular
patches rather than large contiguous areas and by leaving stringers of
timber in larger cuts [88].

Related categories for Species: Vaccinium caespitosum | Dwarf Huckleberry