Continuous picking may increase bilberry yields
Accumulated knowledge about the health benefits of bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) has increased the demand and utilization of wild bilberries. Intensive berry picking by metal rakes is believed to cause damage in bilberry stands in areas under continuous picking pressure, and hence expected to ha...
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Finnish Society of Forest Science
2019
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:6c99ee03f65d4e57aa110989cc3be7b9 2023-05-15T17:42:34+02:00 Continuous picking may increase bilberry yields Outi Manninen Rainer Peltola 2019-09-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.10043 https://doaj.org/article/6c99ee03f65d4e57aa110989cc3be7b9 EN eng Finnish Society of Forest Science https://doaj.org/toc/2242-4075 doi:10.14214/sf.10043 2242-4075 https://doaj.org/article/6c99ee03f65d4e57aa110989cc3be7b9 Silva Fennica, Vol 53, Iss 3 (2019) Vaccinium myrtillus collectable goods sustainability Forestry SD1-669.5 article 2019 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.10043 2022-12-31T00:40:18Z Accumulated knowledge about the health benefits of bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) has increased the demand and utilization of wild bilberries. Intensive berry picking by metal rakes is believed to cause damage in bilberry stands in areas under continuous picking pressure, and hence expected to hamper the production of berries in forthcoming years. We conducted an experiment to examine the effect of continuous bilberry picking by metal rake on the number of bilberry flowers and fruits, fruit mass, compensation for biomass loss after picking, and plant functional type abundance in the understorey in northern Finland. Bilberry lost less than 0.5% of its biomass annually during the three-year study period due to rake harvesting. The number of flowers was not significantly affected by damage caused by picking, while both fruit production and fruit set increased without any indication of reduced fruit mass, and biomass loss was fully compensated. Moreover, the relative abundance of plant functional types was not affected by picking during the study. We suggest that the low intensity and timing of damage act as a buffer against the adverse effects of picking on bilberry fruit production. On the basis of this study, it is reasonable to anticipate that there are no indications that current intensive berry picking would not be on a sustainable level. Article in Journal/Newspaper Northern Finland Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Silva Fennica 53 3 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Vaccinium myrtillus collectable goods sustainability Forestry SD1-669.5 |
spellingShingle |
Vaccinium myrtillus collectable goods sustainability Forestry SD1-669.5 Outi Manninen Rainer Peltola Continuous picking may increase bilberry yields |
topic_facet |
Vaccinium myrtillus collectable goods sustainability Forestry SD1-669.5 |
description |
Accumulated knowledge about the health benefits of bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) has increased the demand and utilization of wild bilberries. Intensive berry picking by metal rakes is believed to cause damage in bilberry stands in areas under continuous picking pressure, and hence expected to hamper the production of berries in forthcoming years. We conducted an experiment to examine the effect of continuous bilberry picking by metal rake on the number of bilberry flowers and fruits, fruit mass, compensation for biomass loss after picking, and plant functional type abundance in the understorey in northern Finland. Bilberry lost less than 0.5% of its biomass annually during the three-year study period due to rake harvesting. The number of flowers was not significantly affected by damage caused by picking, while both fruit production and fruit set increased without any indication of reduced fruit mass, and biomass loss was fully compensated. Moreover, the relative abundance of plant functional types was not affected by picking during the study. We suggest that the low intensity and timing of damage act as a buffer against the adverse effects of picking on bilberry fruit production. On the basis of this study, it is reasonable to anticipate that there are no indications that current intensive berry picking would not be on a sustainable level. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Outi Manninen Rainer Peltola |
author_facet |
Outi Manninen Rainer Peltola |
author_sort |
Outi Manninen |
title |
Continuous picking may increase bilberry yields |
title_short |
Continuous picking may increase bilberry yields |
title_full |
Continuous picking may increase bilberry yields |
title_fullStr |
Continuous picking may increase bilberry yields |
title_full_unstemmed |
Continuous picking may increase bilberry yields |
title_sort |
continuous picking may increase bilberry yields |
publisher |
Finnish Society of Forest Science |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.10043 https://doaj.org/article/6c99ee03f65d4e57aa110989cc3be7b9 |
genre |
Northern Finland |
genre_facet |
Northern Finland |
op_source |
Silva Fennica, Vol 53, Iss 3 (2019) |
op_relation |
https://doaj.org/toc/2242-4075 doi:10.14214/sf.10043 2242-4075 https://doaj.org/article/6c99ee03f65d4e57aa110989cc3be7b9 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.10043 |
container_title |
Silva Fennica |
container_volume |
53 |
container_issue |
3 |
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1766144443504656384 |