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    Long-term irrigation effects on Spanish holm oak growth and its black truffle symbiont

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    Ulf Büntgen...[et.al.]The Périgord black truffle is an exclusive culinary delicacy, but its Mediterranean harvests have declined, despite cultivation efforts since the 1970s. The role of long-term irrigation, symbiotic fungus-host interaction, and microbial belowground progression remain poorly understood, because generally too short experimental settings miss the necessary degree of real world complexity and reliable information from truffle orchards is limited. Here, we conduct the first dendrochronological and wood anatomical assessment of 295 holm oaks, which have been growing under different irrigation intensities in the world's largest truffle orchard in Spain. The relationships between different climatic variables (monthly temperature means and precipitation totals) and dendro-parameters (ring width, vessel count and vessel size) of the oak hosts are utilized to disentangle direct and indirect drivers of truffle fruit body production. Irrigation at medium - instead of high - intensity is most beneficial for oak growth. Non-irrigated trees reveal overall lower stem increments. Warmer temperatures from February to April and wetter conditions from May to July enhance host vitality and possibly also its interplay with fungi symbionts via increased fine root production and mycorrhizal colonization. Adequately irrigated Mediterranean orchards may counteract some of the drought-induced natural truffle decline, and help stabilizing rural tourism, regional agriculture and global markets. © 2014 Elsevier B.V.Supported by the WSL-internal DITREC project, the Ernst Göhner Foundation, the ClimFun project of the Norwegian RC (No. 225043), the project AGL2012-40035-C03 (Government of Spain), the project Micosylva+ (Interreg IVB SUDOE SOE3/P2/E533), the Government of Castilla y León, ARAID, the project Xilva (CGL2011-26654, Economy and Competitiveness Ministry), as well as the Operational Program of Education for Competitiveness of Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic (No. CZ.1.07/2.3.00/20.0248). We are particularly thankful to the Arotz Food Company for helping us to develop this research (via José Cuenca). José Miguel Altelarrea and to José Antonio Vega Borjabad (Cesefor Foundation) contributed to the fieldwork.Peer Reviewe

    Long-term irrigation effects on Spanish holm oak growth and its black truffle symbiont

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    The Périgord black truffle is an exclusive culinary delicacy, but its Mediterranean harvests have declined, despite cultivation efforts since the 1970s. The role of long-term irrigation, symbiotic fungus-host interaction, and microbial belowground progression remain poorly understood, because generally too short experimental settings miss the necessary degree of real world complexity and reliable information from truffle orchards is limited. Here, we conduct the first dendrochronological and wood anatomical assessment of 295 holm oaks, which have been growing under different irrigation intensities in the world's largest truffle orchard in Spain. The relationships between different climatic variables (monthly temperature means and precipitation totals) and dendro-parameters (ring width, vessel count and vessel size) of the oak hosts are utilized to disentangle direct and indirect drivers of truffle fruit body production. Irrigation at medium - instead of high - intensity is most beneficial for oak growth. Non-irrigated trees reveal overall lower stem increments. Warmer temperatures from February to April and wetter conditions from May to July enhance host vitality and possibly also its interplay with fungi symbionts via increased fine root production and mycorrhizal colonization. Adequately irrigated Mediterranean orchards may counteract some of the drought-induced natural truffle decline, and help stabilizing rural tourism, regional agriculture and global markets
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