In the woodlands around Alba, Italy, truffle hunters are facing increasingly difficult conditions as a warming climate alters the forests where prized white truffles grow. The fungi depend on cool, moist soil and a delicate relationship with tree roots, both of which are being affected by heat and drought.
The season in Piedmont traditionally begins on Oct. 1. This year, months of high temperatures and limited rainfall left soils dry and compacted, contributing to smaller truffles, lower production and a shorter shelf life, according to Antonio Degiacomi, president of Italy’s National Centre for Truffle Studies.
Recent rains have helped improve conditions and allowed larger specimens to emerge, said Axel Iberti, president of Alba’s International White Truffle Fair. However, prices at the local market are running 20% to 30% higher than last year, while demand remains strong and accommodation in the area has largely sold out during the event, which runs from Oct. 10 to Dec. 6.
Degiacomi said the current season reflects a broader pattern of hotter summers and increasingly irregular rainfall observed over the past five or six years. Truffle hunter Tino Marolo described uncertainty as a longstanding part of the activity, saying hunters more often return empty-handed than with a truffle.
Similar problems are being reported across the Adriatic in Croatia. In oak forests outside Zagreb, hunter Petar Alebic said drought has made truffles smaller and scarcer, with this year’s harvest estimated at about 30% below normal. He has increasingly supplemented his income by taking tourists on truffle-hunting excursions.
Croatia has about a dozen truffle species, according to mycologist Armin Mesic of the Rudjer Boskovic Institute. The most valuable, the white truffle, can sell for as much as 4,000 euros per kilogram. Mesic said drought, reduced rainfall and high temperatures are affecting both the quantity and quality of the fungi, as well as the geographic area where white truffles can grow.
Experts in Piedmont do not consider the species doomed, but say its habitat faces a serious challenge. Researchers are examining improved forest management, experimental irrigation during prolonged droughts, soil microorganisms and tree varieties that may tolerate hotter, drier conditions.
Conservation efforts in Alba include creating public truffle grounds, planting trees and expanding environmental education linked to the white truffle fair. Reforestation can help cool soil, retain moisture and limit erosion, although newly planted trees may need more than a decade before becoming suitable hosts.
Efforts to cultivate white truffles commercially also continue, but reliable large-scale production remains elusive. Unlike black truffles, white truffles have largely resisted cultivation. For now, their future depends on how effectively forests, researchers and truffle communities adapt to a warmer climate.
Sources: Phys.org.