FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Vaccinium parvifolium | Red Huckleberry 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
Red huckleberry is described as "moderately resistant" to fire [36] but
aboveground vegetation is commonly killed.  In northwestern Oregon, dead
stems of red huckleberry were in evidence soon after a "severe" fire in
a Douglas-fir forest [75].  Underground regenerative structures such as
roots, rhizomes, or "stems" often persist, enabling portions of the
plant to survive many, if not most, fires.  Yerkes [104] observed
numerous survivors after postharvest slash burns in the Oregon Cascades.
Survival is presumably most likely after light to moderate fires which
do not remove soil or duff.

Seeds of most huckleberries (Vaccinium spp.) are susceptible to heat and
are presumably killed by fire [68].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
Vegetative response:  Red huckleberry commonly sprouts from the stem,
roots, or rhizomes [7,36,72] after fire damages or removes aboveground
foliage.  However, fire intensity and severity significantly influence
vegetative response.  Plants may not resprout on severely burned sites
where underground regenerative structures have been seriously damaged or
destroyed.

Evidence suggests that sprouting may be more likely on relatively mesic
south aspects.  On the Tillamook Burn of northwestern Oregon, sprouts
were twice as frequent on a southeast aspect as on a northwest exposure
[75].  Stewart [94] observed the following number of stems and sprouts
after logging and fire in coastal Oregon:

                       before burn              1 yr after burn
               (# original stems/acre)     (# orig. stems & sprouts/acre)
                     
north aspect            550                             0
south aspect          1,220                         1,440
   
Seedling establishment:  Seeds of most huckleberries are of short
viability and are readily killed by heat [68].  Consequently,
seedbanking does not appear to represent an important regenerative
strategy in red huckleberry.  However, birds and mammals do transport
some seed from off-site.

Postfire recovery:  On most burned sites, only minor long-term changes
in red huckleberry abundance occur [36].  In many areas, distribution of
red huckleberry in preburn communities essentially determines postburn
distribution [7].  On light to moderately burned sites, postburn cover
closely resembles that of the original unburned communities [36].
However, on severely burned sites, reductions in cover often occur as
fire removes duff or litter, thereby damaging underground regenerative
structures [36,62].

Red huckleberry initially decreases after fire [23,24,36,85] but then
increases in subsequent years [104].  Where plants resprout, recovery
may be relatively rapid.  Within 14 weeks after fire in the Coast Range
of Oregon, red huckleberry clumps averaged nine stems with an average
diameter of 6.7 inches (17 cm) per clump [85].  Each clump averaged 7.8
inches (20 cm) in height [85].  Red huckleberry was absent during the
first year after an intense postharvest burn in a cedar-hemlock forest
of coastal British Columbia [62].  Within 18 months after fire, some
huckleberry plants were present, but plants had not regained vigor 3
years after fire [62].  Plants eventually reached unburned levels within
11 to 16 years after slash burns in Oregon [73].  Cover and frequency of
red huckleberry in a western hemlock-western redcedar-Douglas-fir forest
of Northern Cascades National Park increased as follows after wildfires
in 1970 [70]:

                  1971     1972     1974
                        (percent)

frequency         0        13       34.8
cover             0        --        0.9


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Wildlife considerations:  Evidence suggests that fire suppression may be
having an adverse impact on bear habitat in some areas [96,105].  Once
productive seral berry fields are now being invaded by conifers.  Since
plants beneath a forest canopy generally produce few berries, fruit
production has been declining [71].  Logging treatments which include
hot slash burns may result in decreased berry availability.  Even where
timber harvest favors berry production, lack of cover in early years can
limit bear use.  Wildfires often create diverse habitat mosaics [105]
which incorporate elements of hiding cover and favor bear use.

Berry production:  Berry production in most western huckleberries
(Vaccinium spp.) is generally delayed for at least 5 years after fire
[68].  On some sites, production may be reduced for 20 to 30 years or
longer [68].

Prescribed fire:  Flower buds tend to be more numerous on new shoots,
and periodic removal of old shoots can increase flower production in
many huckleberries (Vaccinium spp.) [68].  Prescribed fire has long been
used to rejuvenate commercial low sweet blueberry (V. angustifolium)
fields and to increase fruit production [68].

Postharvest burning:  Response of red huckleberry to postharvest burns
appears somewhat variable.  Various factors such as fire intensity or
severity, season of burn, weather conditions, site characteristics, and
the use of mechanical scarification, are important influences.  Direct
comparison between specific postharvest burns is difficult due to the
compounding effects of many variables.  However, results of pertinent
studies are briefly summarized as follows:  

     fire and site preparation - alder (Alnus spp.) dominated
     brushfields - Oregon Coast Range [85]:
                                                    
     June        September     November      change
    (prefire)    (postfire)    (postfire)    (June-Nov.)
                        (percent cover)   

      34              0             11         -23

     timber harvest and subsequent slash burns - Douglas-fir-western
     hemlock forest - Washington [23]:

     (before logging)      (after logging)      (after burning)
          1962                   1963                1964
                           (percent cover)

site 1    5.3                    .4                  .2
site 2    1.3                    .8                  .2
site 3     .9                    .1                  .1

     clearcutting and broadcast slash burn - Douglas-fir-western hemlock
     forest - western Cascades, Oregon [24]:

         1962     1963     1964     1965    1966    1967    1968
       (before  (1st yr.  (after
       logging)  after     slash
                 logging)  burn)
                             (percent)

cover    2.8      0.5      0.2      0.2     0.2     0.3     0.4
freq.   32.8     14.8      6.6      9.8     9.8    14.8    11.5

     clearcutting, herbicide, and burn - Douglas-fir - Coast Range,
     Oregon [94]:

              before     1 yr. after     3 yrs. after   4 yrs. after   
              burn       burn            burn           burn, 1 yr. after
                                                        release, spraying  
                           (percent cover)
                                        
north aspect     .50        .10             .70            0
south aspect    3.00        0              1.20           1.20

Related categories for Species: Vaccinium parvifolium | Red Huckleberry