No abstract

Tuber magnatum Pico, the Italian white truffle, commands the highest prices of any truffle. Despite its commercial value, it is the only edible European truffle which has not yet been successfully cultivated. Because of this, it is essential to safeguard natural truffières and to identify cultural practices to maximize their productivity. Soil tillage is successfully and extensively used in black truffle cultivation to enhance productivity, but its effects are not known on the development of T. magnatum. A recently developed real-time PCR assay was applied to evaluate the effects of tillage (10-15 cm depth) on T. magnatum mycelium in two different natural truffle grounds located in Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna. Tillage effects on bulk density, ectomycorrhizal fungal communities, and ascoma production were also assessed. Tilling significantly increased the quantity of T. magnatum mycelium which seemed to be related to an increase in soil porosity by up to 34%, and the diversity of ectomycorrhizal fungal communities. On the contrary, no significant effects were found on ascoma production. The results highlight that real-time PCR is the most reliable method for evaluating the effects of cultural practices on the development of T. magnatum in soil avoiding long-term studies on fruiting body production.

Aim of study: The diversity of ectomycorrhizal fungal communities (EM) above (EMFb) and below (EMMt) ground associated with Quercus cerris L., Q. pubescens Willd., and Pinus nigra J.F.Arnold was analyzed.Area of study: A 20 year-old orchard that produces Tuber aestivum truffles, located a few kilometers from Chiusi della Verna (latitude 43° 41’ 53’’; longitude 11° 56’ 9’’) in Tuscany (central Italy) was observed.Material and Methods: This investigation combined analyses of EMFb, EMMt, T. aestivum productivity, different host trees, and statistical data on community ecology.Main results: The EM communities showed high species richness and differed slightly in relation to both the host tree and their location above or below ground, providing frequent findings of Tricholoma and Tomentella, respectively. Positive correlations were found between the number of truffles and host trees, and between the weight and number of truffles and EMFb.Research highlights: Mycorrhizal fungi and truffle production are not in competition.Key words: Fungal communities; fruiting bodies; morphotypes; Tuber aestivum; competition; Italy.

Deadwood is involved in several important ecological roles, being the fundamental habitat of wood-decay fungi. At the same time, this polyphyletic group of fungi is the principal agent of wood decomposition, regulating the carbon cycle and the food resource for many other organisms. It is known that the diversity and community composition of wood-decay fungi are related to the tree species, decay stage and size of the woody debris in which they are living. Nevertheless, there is a lack of information on Mediterranean Quercus cerris L. forests. In response, we explored how wood-decay fungi colonize different woody types and how the productivity, richness and community composition of these fungi is influenced by the decay stage and size of the deadwood. Our results indicate that the studied groups, i.e., Ascomycetes, Corticioids, Polyporoids and Heterobasidiomycetes responded differently to the woody debris classes. Moreover, we note the high importance of smaller and soft-decayed woody debris for community composition and richness, hosting a great number of species, in addition to the positive effect of the heterogeneity of the woody debris size for wood-decay fungi productivity.

No abstract