Abstract
Fire is known to benefit morel production, but the details of how or why remain unknown. To investigate the effects of fire treatment on the occurrence and yield of the morel Morchella importuna in semi-artificial, field-based setups, we designed surface fire treatments using different quantities of burning material (dry Pinaceae twigs). Developmental stages of M. importuna, including the formation and degeneration of mycelium, formation of ascocarp primordia, ascocarp initials, and mature ascocarps, were evaluated in square-meter quadrats in field experiments. Morel yields and soil were compared. Fire treatments corresponding to 1.7 and 2.5 kg burning material/m2 resulted in clearly increased levels of soil minerals and nutrients, and significantly increased formation of ascocarp primordial and morel yields. None of the fire treatments had a significant effect on the germination rate of primordia. Fire treatments corresponding to 0.8 kg burning material/m2 did not increase morel yield. Surface fires increased the suitability of soils for the growth and productivity of ascocarps of M. importuna if sufficient burning material is used.
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