Harvesting_Bilberry_Finland

Emma_Hemmerle — Fri, 28 Jan 2022 13:30:44 +0000

Harvesting_Bilberry_Finland Emma_Hemmerle Fri, 01/28/2022 - 13:30

Affiliation

IIED

Date Of Record Entry

Fri, 01/28/2022 - 12:00

Type of wild species covered by the record

Wild species used in its natural habitat

Stage of the value chain covered by the record

Unknown/not recorded

Record Source

Scientific publication (e.g., journal articles and book chapters independently peer-reviewed)

Indigenous/local knowledge

Continuous picking may increase bilberry yields

Decreasing

Is the species endemic HIDE

Population Status

Unknown/not recorded

National Level

Unknown/not recorded

Threats/Pressures impacting the conservation of the species

Disease

Invasive Species

Population Trend

Unknown/not recorded

Sub-national Level

Unknown/not recorded

Additional Details (if available)

The loss of lowland heathland has lead to the decline of this species. The pathogen Phytophthora kernoviae was reported causing a significant threat to heathland bilberry in the United Kingdom (Beales et al. 2009).

Name

Emma Hemmerlé

Scientific Name

Vaccinium myrtillus

Common Name(s)

Bilberry

Type of Use

Extractive (i.e., the entire organism or parts of the organism are removed from its environment)

If extractive, for the target species, is this use

Non-Lethal

Does this use involve take/extraction of

Only parts or products of the organism (e.g., feathers, leaves, branches, eggs, nuts)

Details of parts/products taken

continuous bilberry picking by metal rake from the bilberry stands;

How is the primary use carried out?

Gathering/Cutting/Collecting Terrestrial Plants and Fungi or Their Products From the Wild

Are specific characteristics/traits being targeted?

Unknown/not recorded

Purpose of Use

Basic subsistence (meeting day to day essential needs)

What is the main end use for any living organisms, parts or products taken/extracted?

Food for People

Medicine/Pharmaceutical (human/veterinary)

What is the trend in the level of offtake within the period covered by this record?

Unknown/Not Recorded

Is there a regulatory or customary regime in place to govern this use?

Unknown/Not Recorded

Geographic Location

Europe

Country

Finland

Site Description

The experiment was conducted in a northern boreal forest area (66°32 ́N, 25°00 ́E) in Finland during 2012–2015. Four sites, rich in berry-producing bilberry plants, were chosen for the experiment. The sites were located in an area of approximately one square km. Common understorey species at the sites together with bilberry are lingonberry (V. vitis-idaea L.) and wavy hair-grass (Deschampsia flexuosa [L.] Trin.). A thick layer of bryophytes, consisting of species such as Pleurozium scheberi (Brid.) Mitt. and Hylocomium splendens (Hedw.) Schimp., are commonly found in the forest floor.

Is the site legally/formally protected?

Unknown/not recorded

Ownership

Unknown/Not Recorded

Management

Unknown/Not Recorded

Unknown/not recorded

Is the use part of a strategy to generate conservation incentives, to finance conservation, or to improve tolerance/stewardship?

Unknown/not recorded

Is there evidence that the use is affecting the conservation status of the species? HIDE

Yes – use is improving the status (e.g., population is increasing or stabilising, extraction effort OR catch per unit effort is decreasing or stable)

Is there evidence that the use is affecting natural selection?

Unknown/not recorded

Is there evidence that the use is affecting poaching of illegal wildlife trade?

Unknown/not reported

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.

Is there any evidence that this use of the species is having a knock-on effect on the status of non-target species

Unknown/not recorded

Details of assessment carried out

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. The findings of increased fruit production and fruit set of bilberry in our study suggest enhanced bilberry yields in areas under continuous picking. In conclusion, we suggest that the low intensity and timing of damage act as a buffer against the adverse effects of picking on bilberry fruit production. Surprisingly both bilberry fruit produc- tion and fruit set increased after continuous picking, although the reason behind this phenomenon remains unclear in this study. Picking probably accelerated the rejuvenation process of bilberry ramets, which may be beneficial to bilberry performance in the long-term. Moreover, the relative abundance of plant functional types remained the same after three years of picking, suggesting that continuous picking does not deteriorate bilberry yields by inducing changes in a vegetation community structure. 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.

Has a valuation of financial flows from this use at the site/national/international level been recorded

Contribution to GDP

Unknown/not recorded

Food

Energy

Medicine/healthcare

Education

Training/Skills

Land/Resource Rights

Decision Making

Conflict- people

Conflict- wildlife

Climate Change

Has the use of the species been recorded as resulting in changes to human health in this record?

Unknown/not recorded

Has the species in use been noted as being of particular disease risk to humans?

Unknown/not recorded

Has the use of the species resulted in changes to animal welfare in this record?

Unknown/not recorded

Are there particular practices which have increased the risk to human or animal health or welfare in the use of this species?

Unknown/not recorded

Does the use of this species increase susceptibility to pathogen spread?

Unknown/not recorded

Biological characteristics of target species

Present

Is this use legal or illegal?

Unknown/Not Recorded

Source Reference(s)

Manninen O., Peltola R. (2019). Continuous picking may increase bilberry yields. Silva Fennica vol. 53 no. 3 article id 10043. 13 p. http://doi.org/10.14214/sf.10043

Threats/pressures impacting the species at the scale of this record

Unknown/Not Recorded

Who is involved in the use?

Unknown/Not Recorded

Is there any gender/age specificity in the various roles

Unknown/not recorded

How many of these local jobs accure to the following categories?

How many people outside the local area are employed

Is there any evidence of other economic benefits associated with this use beyond direct income and jobs

Unknown/Not recorded

Scale of Assessment

Sub-national