Berry production in three whitebark pine forest types

Abstract

In the whitebark pine lwhortleberry (Pinus albicaulis/Vaccinium scoparium) habitat type of southwestern Montana, whortleberry plants produced seven to 69 berries I m• X yr in 1974. In subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa) habitat types of northwestern Montana, huckleberry plants (Vaccinium globulare) may produce from 13 to 228 berries I m2 X yr. While removal of competing trees increases production, thinning the understory apparently reduces berry production in direct proportion to the shrubs removed; there is no compensatory production indicative of shrub-shrub competition in fully vegetated plots. Fifty- to 100-fold variation in production among years in Vaccinium globulare berry production is attributed to variation in weather conditions.