Black truffle winter production depends on Mediterranean summer precipitation

Büntgen, Ulf; Oliach, Daniel; Martínez Peña, Fernando; Latorre, Joaquín; Egli, Simon; Krusic, Paul J.

Black truffle winter production depends on Mediterranean summer precipitation

dc.bibliographicCitation.title	Environmental Research Letters	en
dc.bibliographicCitation.volume	14	es_ES
dc.contributor.author	Büntgen, Ulf	es_ES
dc.contributor.author	Oliach, Daniel	es_ES
dc.contributor.author	Martínez Peña, Fernando	es_ES
dc.contributor.author	Latorre, Joaquín	es_ES
dc.contributor.author	Egli, Simon	es_ES
dc.contributor.author	Krusic, Paul J.	es_ES
dc.coverage.spatial	Recursos forestales	es_ES
dc.date.accessioned	2019-09-05T10:55:48Z
dc.date.available	2019-09-05T10:55:48Z
dc.date.issued	2019	es_ES
dc.description.abstract	The unprecedented price inflation of Black truffles, recently exceeding 5000 Euro kg−1 (in Zurich), is a combined result of increasing global demands and decreasing Mediterranean harvests. Since the effects of long-term irrigation and climate variation on symbiotic fungus-host interaction and the development of belowground microbes are poorly understood, the establishment and maintenance of truffle plantations remains a risky venture. Using 49 years of continuous harvest and climate data from Spain, France and Italy, we demonstrate how truffle production rates, between November and March, significantly rely on previous June–August precipitation totals, whereas too much autumnal rainfall affects the subsequent winter harvest negatively. Despite a complex climate-host-fungus relationship, our findings show that southern European truffle yields can be predicted at highest probability (r = 0.78, t-stat = 5.645, prob = 0.000 01). Moreover, we demonstrate the reliability of national truffle inventories since 1970, and question the timing and dose of many of the currently operating irrigation systems. Finally, our results suggest that Black truffle mycorrhizal colonization of host fine roots, the sexualisation of mycelium, and the formation of peridium are strongly controlled by natural summer rainfall. Recognising the drought-vulnerability of southern Europe’s rapidly growing truffle sector, we encourage a stronger liaison between farmers, politicians and scientists to maintain ecological and economic sustainability under predicted climate change in the Mediterranean basin.	en
dc.description.status	Published	es_ES
dc.identifier.citation	Environmental Research Letters, vol. 14, n. 7, (2019)
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10532/4739
dc.language.iso	en	es_ES
dc.relation.uri	https://doi.org/10.1088%2F1748-9326%2Fab1880	es_ES
dc.rights	Atribución-NoComercial-SinDerivadas 3.0 España	*
dc.rights.uri	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/es/	*
dc.subject.agrovoc	Tuber melanosporum	es
dc.subject.agrovoc	Producción	es
dc.subject.agrovoc	Sequía	es
dc.subject.agrovoc	Zona mediterránea	es
dc.subject.agrovoc	Sostenibilidad	es
dc.subject.agrovoc	Cambio climático	es
dc.subject.agrovoc	Métodos de riego	es
dc.title	Black truffle winter production depends on Mediterranean summer precipitation	es
dc.type	Journal Contribution	*
dc.type.refereed	Refereed	es_ES
dc.type.specified	Article	es_ES