Truffles to convert burned lands into forests
2005/11/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria
Two researchers from the Department of Botany of the University of Navarra have conducted an investigation to recover burnt lands and convert them into forests. For this purpose it has been proposed the use of colonized or mycorrhized plants with fungi like the Tuber melanosporum (black truffle of Perigord).
Based on the work done to recover the Nazar holm oak (Lizarraldea), both researchers have analyzed the growth and survival of mycorrhizal and mycorrhizal plants. Mycorrhiza is the symbiosis that forms the roots and fungi of a plant. Thus, the tree and truffles grow at once.
After three years of research, the researchers conclude that the mycorrhized arts of the fungus T. melanosporum have a survival rate higher than those not mycorrhized. In this way, in addition to recovering burned land, an economic boost can be given to land suitable for planting truffles. In addition, truffles drive tree growth and make them more resistant to disease.
