With Alaska blueberry season upon us, we are showcasing research on blueberries! Bonanza Creek LTER undergraduates Cooper Moen (UAF) and Risa Heinrichs (U Wisconsin Madison) and their mentor Dr. Katie Spellman (UAF) studied blueberry production in four historical burn sites on Murphy Dome outside Fairbanks to see if burn age or insect damage affected berry production.  Berry production was a little higher in the youngest (6 yrs) and the oldest (roughly 86 yrs) burned sites but age of burn alone was not a strong predictor of the number of berries at the site. Rather, local site conditions such as soil temperature and more moss and shrub cover (which could result from burning under the right conditions) were the better sites for blueberry production. The team also looked at whether insect damage on the blueberry plants affected the number of berries (it didn’t seem to).  The work is summarized in their 2026 poster:   Berries in the Burn– interactions between insect herbivory, berry production, and wildfire in Interior Alaska.

If berries are your thing, you should check out the University of Alaska site Alaska Berry Futures, which summarizes lore on blueberries, cloudberries, crowberries, lingonberries and salmonberries as well as how these species might be reacting to our rapidly warming climate in Alaska.