FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Vaccinium pallidum | Hillside Blueberry 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
Most aboveground stems are presumably killed by fire.  However, buds are
resistant to heat damage [10].  Brayton and Woodwell [10] observed a
"few" surviving aboveground stems after a "heavy burn" in New York.
Underground regenerative structures are generally well protected by
overlying layers of soil.  Postfire mortality is apparently low.


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
Hillside blueberry sprouts readily after fire [10,14] from underground
rhizomes, buds located on the root collar, and buds located on portions
of surviving aerial stems [10,42].  Surviving buds located nearest the
stem apex generally sprout to produce the new shoots [10].  Plants
commonly sprout from underground rhizomes after aboveground foliage is
consumed by fire.  Sprouts often originate from root collar buds after
only light damage [42].

Sprouting ability may be reduced by severe damage or by fires at too
frequent intervals [10].  After wildfires in white oak-scarlet oak
(Quercus coccinea)-pitch pine forests of New Jersey, shoot elongation of
hillside blueberry was reduced by "heavy" as compared to "light" burns.
However, greater population increases were noted after "heavy" burns.
Comparative values were as follows [10]:

      stems/ m sq             burn

          117                 light
          138                 heavy 

Some seedling establishment may occur as birds and mammals transport
seed from off-site.  However, seedling establishment in most blueberries
(Vaccinium spp.) is generally limited to favorable sites in good years.

Recovery of hillside blueberry is typically rapid.  By the second year
after a prescribed fire in a clearcut jack pine stand in northern lower
Michigan, plants exhibited significant increases in cover [1].  Hillside
blueberry was considered dominant in both burned and unburned stands
[1].  Cover was documented as follows [1,2]:

                 1979                   1980                    1981
            cover    freq.          cover     freq.         cover    freq. 
mature jack 
pine stand  27.2   30.0            --        --            --       --
unburned 
  clearcut   11.3   43.3            20.5      44.0          19.2     44.4
burned 
  clearcut   14.3   34.2             9.0      41.0          19.4     43.9

Although hillside blueberry generally increases after fire, small
reductions have been noted on certain sites.  Ten to 26 months after a
burn in north-central New York, Swan [54] reported average frequencies
on unburned plots of 47 percent, whereas the average frequency on burned
plots was 36 percent.  Similarly, Brown [11] observed relative densities
of 37.58 percent on burned sites and 43.92 percent on unburned sites in
Rhode Island woodlands.


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Prescribed fire:  Clones of lowbush blueberries such as hillside
blueberry persist for years on undisturbed sites.  However, fruit
production and overall vigor typically decline with age [52].  Fire has
been widely used to rejuvenate decadent clones and improve wildlife
habitat [52].

Biomass:  Estimates of hillside blueberry biomass in New Jersey Pine
Barrens were as follows [6]:

                              (kg/ha)
      control     wildfire    wildfire    pres. burn      pres. burn    
       ----          +           1           162              35

Environmental consideration:  Hillside blueberry is able to persist in
chestnut-oak woodlands of Pennsylvania adjacent to zinc smelters [31].
Studies in these contaminated communities indicated that many species,
normally favored by fire, were weakened by exposure to high soil levels
of zinc and did not assume prominence on burned sites.  However,
hillside blueberry, although also weakened by exposure to soil
contaminants, nevertheless increased on burned plots.  Percent cover was
as follows [31]:

                        burned                  unburned
          (sampled 14-15 years after fire)

control                  7.8                       1.2
smelter site             4.7                       0.9

Related categories for Species: Vaccinium pallidum | Hillside Blueberry