Abstract
The wild production of the highly appreciated fungus Tuber melanosporum is negatively affected by canopy
closure in the stand. Habitat improvement has been proposed as a tool to recover the production in close
forests, but evaluations based on scientific monitoring are still lacking. This study analyses the short-term
effect of a pilot project on improvement of T. melanosporum reproduction habitat. The results support
the project hypothesis that the canopy closure was hampering truffle fruiting in the larger brûlés. The
silvicultural treatment alone has not triggered a clear positive response in all the truffières, suggesting
that complementary actions are necessary to ensure their sustainability. Weather conditions provoke a
year-to-year variation in the fruiting and determine the responsiveness of the truffières to the treatment.
© 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
