FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Vaccinium myrtilloides | Velvetleaf Blueberry 



FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : 
Velvetleaf blueberry commonly sprouts from the stem base or rhizomes
after aboveground foliage is removed or damaged by fire [11,90].  Some
seed may be transported to burned sites by birds and mammals.  

Velvetleaf blueberry appears to be well adapted to a regime of fairly
frequent fires.  Although berry production may be much-reduced,
velvetleaf blueberry is apparently able to persist for years beneath a
closed canopy forest.  Old clones decline in vigor, but periodic fires
initiate vigorous sprouting and regrowth.  In the East, native Americans
and early European settlers used fire in wild berry fields containing
velvetleaf blueberry to enhance fruit production [76].  Evidence
suggests, however, that velvetleaf blueberry is less tolerant of annual
or biennial fires than its conspecific, low sweet blueberry [78].

Fire is a particularly common influence in northern boreal forests where
velvetleaf blueberry grows as an understory dominant or codominant [23].
Fire intervals in these areas vary, but often range from 27 to 54 years.
In parts of northern Minnesota, fire intervals have been estimated at 30
years [76], and in the jackpine woodlands of Alberta's Athabasca Plains,
patchy burns occur every 28 to 54 years [11].  Peak abundance of
velvetleaf blueberry evidently corresponds to these intervals.  Peak
frequencies have been observed approximately 27 years after fire in
parts of Minnesota [73].  In parts of northern Ontario, increases in
velvetleaf blueberry have been observed approximately 50 years after
fire [78].  Fire intervals in many coniferous forests of eastern Canada
are somewhat longer than in boreal forests to the north.  Flinn [23]
reported average fire intervals of approximately 370 years.


POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : 
   survivor species; on-site surviving root crown or caudex
   survivor species; on-site surviving rhizomes
   off-site colonizer; seed carried by animals or water; postfire yr 1&2

Related categories for Species: Vaccinium myrtilloides | Velvetleaf Blueberry