title: Cultivation of Tuber melanosporum in firebreaks: short-term persistence of the fungus and effect of seedling age and soil treatment.
abstract: Wildfires are a major threat to Mediterranean forests. Firebreaks are built as a prevention measure, but require a periodic and expensive maintenance. Cultivating the ectomycorrhizal mushroom Tuber melanosporum Vitt. in firebreaks could reduce costs and improve their sustainability. But firebreaks are built on forest soil, considered nonoptimum for T. melanosporum cultivation. A pot experiment was used to study the persistence of T. melanosporum in firebreak soils in the short term, as a first step to assess the viability of these plantations. The influence of seedlings, soil heating, and liming was also tested. During the 2 y after plantation, T. melanosporum mycorrhizas increased their number, showing its ability to proliferate. Percent root colonisation by native fungi importantly increased from month 12 to 22; although T. melanosporum remained dominant, with a colonisation level similar to those in standard truffle plantations. The age of seedlings at the time of planting influenced T. melanosporum proliferation, supporting a key role for nursery seedling quality in the performance of young plantations. Heating the soil before planting reduced the richness of native fungi, suggesting that this could increase plantation success. The results tend to support the viability of T. melanosporum cultivation in firebreaks, and encourage experimental field plantations.
authors.affiliation: Fundación Centro de Estudios Ambientales del Mediterráneo (CEAM), C/Charles Darwin 14, Parque Tecnológico, 46980 Paterna, Valencia, Spain. Electronic address: sergi@ceam.es.
authors.forename: Sergi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Garcia-Barreda
authors.forename: Santiago
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Reyna
mesh_terms: D001203:Ascomycota / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000502:physiology; D005390:Fires; D006358:Hot Temperature; D050296:Microbial Viability / Q000528:radiation effects; D036226:Seedlings / Q000382:microbiology*; D012988:Soil Microbiology
keywords: Ectomycorrhizal fungi; Firebreak; Inoculated seedling; Soil preparation; Truffle plantation