Ecosystems supporting Tuber magnatum Pico production in Serbia experience specific soil environment seasonality that may facilitate truffle lifecycle completion

Abstract The production of Tuber magnatum Pico, the most prized and ecologically the most complex, constantly declines in natural habitats, while the success in plantation lacks. Contrary to the data from its habitats in Mediterranean sites, in Serbia this truffle colonizes typical developed alluvial forests, implying that dynamics of soil parameters and nutrient availability, rather than presence of specific ectomycorrhizal (EMC) plant host species or climate, might be crucial for supporting truffle life cycle. In order to reveal specific relationship generating soil microenvironments in productive and unproductive sites, soil water content (SWC) and temperature ( T ) were measured periodically in two depths, in a typical T. magnatum habitat in Western Serbia and compared to the atmospheric parameters (precipitation, air temperature). In three key time-points (spring soil water saturation, summer drought and autumn ascocarp production) soil was sampled through the profile and analyzed for nutrients that might be important for plant/fungal growth and ectomycorrhiza establishment. Results revealed that specific dynamics of soil water, aeration, available P and N, and possibly vegetation phenology, might be determining productivity of the microsites within the productive area. The hypothesis on soil water and nutrient availability seasonal dynamics, which might be controlling truffle establishment and life cycle completion in investigated area, was proposed.