FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Vaccinium uliginosum | Bog Blueberry 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
Fire generally top-kills bog blueberry.  Moderate- to high-severity
fires may also kill underground vegetative structures.



DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
Bog blueberry sprouts from surviving rhizomes or rootstocks after low to
moderate-severity fires.  Burned aerial stems may also sprout [64,88].
Bog blueberry grows rapidly for the first 50 to 60 years after fire [9],
and reaches its highest postfire cover and frequency 50 to 120 years
after burning [4].  Bog blueberry leaves are larger in burned areas,
even after 5 years [89].

Dyrness [17] found that bog blueberry in black spruce stands increased
in biomass production after light summer fires.  The increase in biomass
production corresponded to an increase in nutrient uptake.  Nutrient
levels (percent dry weight) in lightly burned versus unburned areas were
as follows:

                     N          P         K          Ca        Mg
                   ________________________________________________
unburned            .613       .074      .192       .172      .056
lightly burned      1.85       .324      .966       .394      .130

In the 4 years following the Wickersham Dome Fire near Fairbanks,
Alaska, bog blueberry in black spruce stands increased in percent cover
and biomass production, but did not reach control levels.  Recovery in
lightly burned stands was much greater than in heavily burned stands
[86].

Biomass production in bog blueberry decreased following a summer fire in
tussock tundra near Fairbanks, Alaska.  Production in burned areas was
significantly lower (P<.05) than in adjacent unburned areas 13 years
after the fire [24].



DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Flower buds tend to be more numerous on new shoots, and periodic removal
of old shoots may increase flower production in many species of
Vaccinium [58].  Berry production, however, may be delayed for a few
years.  Ground fires of moderate severity favor growth and development
of bog blueberry, and prescribed burning is the recommended management
tool to increase berry yield [62].  Burning should take place in late
fall or early spring before growth resumes [74].

In Russia, low- to moderate-severity ground fires caused 2.2 to 3.1 fold
increases in the number of bog blueberry shoots per unit area.  Annual
growth increments also increased, and were nearly two times greater in
plants on burned areas than in plants on unburned areas.  Fruit
production resumed 3 years after fire, and berries in burned areas were
larger and healthier (more resistant to damage) than berries in other
areas.  Yield in burned areas was also greater than in adjacent unburned
sites [62].

Related categories for Species: Vaccinium uliginosum | Bog Blueberry