Abstract
Long-term field-data series were used to fit a mushroom productivity model. Simulations enabled us to predict the consequences of management and climate scenarios on potential mushroom productivity. Mushrooms play an important ecological and economic role in forest ecosystems. Human interest in collecting mushrooms for self-consumption is also increasing, giving forests added value for providing recreational services. Pinus pinaster Ait. is a western Mediterranean species of great economic and ecological value. Over 7.5% of the total European distribution of the species is found on the Castilian Plateau in central Spain, where a great variety of mushrooms can be harvested. The aim of this study was to model and simulate mushroom productivity in Maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Ait.) ecosystems in northern Spain under different silvicultural and climatic scenarios. A mixed model was fitted that related total mushroom productivity to stand and weather variables. The model was uploaded to the SiManFor platform to study the effect of different silvicultural and climatic scenarios on mushroom productivity. The selected independent variables in the model were the ratio between stand basal area and density as a stand management indicator, along with precipitation and average temperatures for September and November. The simulation results also showed that silviculture had a positive impact on mushroom productivity, which was higher in scenarios with moderate and high thinning intensities. The impact was highly positive in wetter scenarios, though only slightly positive and negative responses were observed in hotter and drier scenarios, respectively. Silviculture had a positive impact on mushroom productivity, especially in wetter scenarios. Precipitation had greater influence than temperature on total mushroom productivity in Maritime pine stands. The results of this paper will enable forest managers to develop optimal management approaches for P. pinaster forests that integrate Non-Wood Forest Products resources.
Highlights
Fungi play an essential ecological role in forest ecosystems
In light of expected climate change, it is necessary to develop sustainable forest management techniques and new silvicultural strategies to improve the resilience of forests and enable ongoing provision of goods and services, including mushroom resources
We looked at how stand, site and weather variables might be correlated with mushroom productivity
Summary
Fungi play an essential ecological role in forest ecosystems. Mycorrhizal species influence the nutrient and water uptake, absorption [1], growth and survival [2,3] of symbiotic plants, the presence of most vascular plants [1], soil Carbon storage, structure, aeration and porosity [4,5] and plant resistance to pathogens, especially at the root level [6]. Saprotrophic fungi are essential decomposers of dead matter, and crucial to nutrient cycling in forest ecosystems [7]. The value of mushroom resources greatly exceeds that of timber [8,9] and companies have been created to process edible and medicinal fungi. Silviculture can modify density, canopy cover, primary productivity, basal area, understory plant communities, soil conditions and soil microbial communities. All these micro-environmental conditions can strongly affect fungal taxa fructification and the subsequent overall yield and diversity of the forest system [10]
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