Abstract
AbstractAnnual fluctuations in the abundance of wild berries have repercussions on animals and humans who depend on this important resource. Although studies have tried to disentangle the effect of climate and herbivores on inter‐annual berry yield, there are still many uncertainties as to which factors are driving productivity. In this research, we evaluated the effect of climate and predation by rodents and moths on the abundance of bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) flowers and berries at the Kilpisjärvi Biological Station in northwest Finnish Lapland. The data were collected from 1973 to 2014 in a forest and an alpine site, both undisturbed by human activities. This dataset is unique due to the length of the sampling period, the availability of flower, berry, and rodent abundance data as well as the undisturbed nature of the habitat. Previous summer temperatures, the abundance of rodents, and the presence of a moth outbreak were complementary factors explaining the abundance of flowers. Herbivores had a larger impact on flower production than climate, but both variables were important to understand reproductive effort. Contrary to results from experimental studies, warmer winters did not significantly influence reproductive success. The abundance of fruits was strongly correlated with pollinator activity; the forest site, with a larger pollinator network, had a higher reproductive success and spring conditions were linked to inter‐annual variability in fruit production. Our results illustrate the importance of the location of the population within the species distribution range to understand plant sensitivity to climatic fluctuations with fruit production only influenced by current‐year summer temperatures at the alpine site. Finally, we observed a general increase in flower and fruit production at the alpine site, which was driven by large yields since the early 1990s. Fruit production at the forest site was comparatively stable throughout the study period.
Highlights
Wild berries are key resources harvested by humans and animals in alpine and boreal ecosystems (Parlee and Berkes 2006, Turtiainen et al 2011, Vaara et al 2013, Cuerrier et al 2015)
We evaluated the effect of climate and predation by rodents and moths on the abundance of bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) flowers and berries at the Kilpisj€arvi Biological Station in northwest Finnish Lapland
We observed the complex response of reproductive success to environmental stressors, climate, pollinator activity, and predation
Summary
Wild berries are key resources harvested by humans and animals in alpine and boreal ecosystems (Parlee and Berkes 2006, Turtiainen et al 2011, Vaara et al 2013, Cuerrier et al 2015). Depending on the region and period studied, a number of climate factors have been found to explain bilberry yields. Those factors pertained to four stages of flower and fruit development: (1) temperature and precipitation in the year prior that influence flower primordia, (2) winter temperature and snow cover that may prevent or induce frost injuries and desiccation, (3) spring snow cover, temperature, and precipitation that may be favorable or not to flower bloom and pollinator activities, and (4) summer temperature and precipitation that determine the number of pollinated flowers producing viable fruits (Jacquemart 1997, Selas 2000, Krebs et al 2009, Selas et al 2015)
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