Management of mushroom resources in Spanish forests: a review

Abstract

Abstract Mycological resources have attracted considerable interest from the public recently. In this context, forest mycological management of wild mushrooms has emerged a research field and is developing rapidly with the objective to sustainably use and conserve mushrooms in multifunctional forests. Although the term ‘mycosilviculture’ was coined relatively recently, forest management of mycological resources and fungal silviculture began already in the 1980s. This study reviews the literature on the forest management of wild mycological resources with emphasis on studies in Spanish Mediterranean forests. The review covers some of the most important aspects of management, such as the diagnosis of mycological resources through inventory and sampling protocols, predictive models of mushroom yield, stand variables and mycosilvicultural practices that affect mushroom yield and fungal diversity. Finally, the potential of mycorrhizal applications for mycosilviculture is briefly discussed. Most of these studies have been based on carpophore inventories, and few have analyzed soil and air fungal biomass. The Mediterranean climate determines mushroom yields; so far, mushroom yields models have been developed mainly for Boletus gr. edulis and Lactarius gr. deliciosus species and for pine forest ecosystems. In the future, it will be necessary to adjust these models to new climatic conditions, and to investigate the complex interactions between different yield and/or fungal diversity factors, adjust the scale of study and fungus-host specificity. So far, few studies have been carried out on mycosilviculture in Mediterranean forests, addressing the effect of thinning and clearcutting on fungal communities; moreover, experiences of mycological management of shrublands, prescribed burning, management of woody debris or selective planting of mycorrhizal seedlings in forests are scarce. The need to study other Mediterranean forest ecosystems is pointed out.