FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Vaccinium parvifolium | Red Huckleberry 



FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : 
Red huckleberry sprouts from the stems, roots, underground stems, or
rhizomes after aboveground vegetation is destroyed by fire [7,36,72].
Some seedling establishment may occur as birds and mammals disperse seed
from off-site.

The importance of fire in many long-lived Northwestern coastal forests,
of which red huckleberry is a component, is "poorly understood" [50].
In many parts of the Northwest, red huckleberry is an important species
on both burned and unburned sites [75].  Fire may have played an
integral role in the maintenance of productive red huckleberry fields.
Shade generally decreases fruit set in most western huckleberries [68]
and native peoples of the Northwest apparently burned red huckleberry
and other Vacciniums to maintain or enhance fruit production [64].
Increased light reaches the forest floor where crowns of trees such as
Douglas-fir have been killed by fire and promotes the growth of red
huckleberry [75].  Increased nutrient availability may also enhance
growth in postfire communities.



POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : 
   Tall shrub, adventitious-bud root crown
   Rhizomatous shrub, rhizome in soil
   Initial-offsite colonizer (off-site, initial community)

Related categories for Species: Vaccinium parvifolium | Red Huckleberry