Bilberry
Vaccinium myrtillus
Family: Ericaceae
Fire effect on plant
The top of the plant is usually killed by fire, but stem bases can survive light fires. Underground rhizomes and regenerative structures typically survive fires unless they are of high severity (Uggla 1959).
Key traits
Bilberry resprouts from both axillary buds located at the base of the stem and from underground rhizomes and from the adventitious root crown (Mallik and Gimingham 1985; Tirmenstein 1990)
Bilberry seeds exhibit heat stimulated seed germination. Mallik and Gimmingham (1985) found that seed germination in bilberry seemed to require heating >50oC, where non heated seeds failed to germinate whilst, short periods of heating (30s to 2 min) between 50 to 100oC improved germination in bilberry. Seeds are animal dispersed and appear to have low longevity (< 1 year; Ranwala and Naylor 2004).
Plant response to fire
Numerous evidence suggests that bilberry recovers well after fire. When assessing the vegetative parts of bilberry to survive fire Mallik and Gimingham (1985) noted between 45 and 74% coverage returned after 17 months in their experiments. Others have noted that clonal growth in bilberry is enhanced by fire, with older clones being fragmented by burning and surviving portions becoming new centres of regeneration (Ritchie 1956). This can allow bilberry to expand rapidly with resprouting evident after just a few months (Ritchie 1956). Sprouting ability is linked to fire intensity and severity (Mallik and Gimingham 1985) where resprouting occurs following all but severe fires, where it can be nearly eliminated in severely burned areas (Langenheim 1962).
It is noted that bilberry commonly persists on sites in the UK that subject to (frequent) periodic burning (Mallik and Gimingham 1985) whilst in other locations it is also supported by relatively long fire return intervals (~100 years; Anders 1982). Prescribed fire is noted to enhance flowering by removing old shoots and tends to increase fruit production in vacciniums (Martin 1979).
Timing of life history
Perennial species. Seeds likely produced from second growing season. Flowering April to July.
Conservation status
None.
References
Granstrom, A. 1982. Seed banks in five boreal forest stands originating between 1810 and 1963. Canadian Journal of Botany 60: 1815-1821. [Empirical evidence; Academic literature]
Langenheim, J.H. 1962. Vegetation and environmental patterns in the Crested Butte area, Gunnison County, Colorado. Ecological Monographs 32: 249-285. [Empirical evidence; Academic literature]
Mallik, A. U.; Gimingham, C. H. 1985. Ecological effects of heather burning. II. Effects on seed germination and vegetative regeneration. Journal of Ecology 73: 633-644. [Empirical evidence; Academic literature]
Martin, Patricia A. E. 1979. Productivity and taxonomy of the Vaccinium globulare, V. membranaceum complex in western Montana. Missoula, MT: University of Montana. 136 p. Thesis. [Empirical evidence; Academic literature]
Ranwala, S. M. W., and Naylor, R. E. L. 2004. Production, survival and germination of bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) seeds. Botanical Journal of Scotland 56: 55–63 [Empirical evidence; Academic literature]
Ritchie, J. C. 1956. Biological flora of the British Isles: Vaccinium myrtillus L. Journal of Ecology 44: 290-298. [Empirical evidence; Academic literature]
Tirmenstein, D. 1990. Vaccinium myrtillus. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/shrub/vacmyr/all.html [2024, January 3]. [Expert opinion; Grey literature]