Soil factors that favour the production of Tuber melanosporum carpophores over other truffle species: a multivariate statistical approach

Abstract The natural harvesting and cultivation of Tuber melanosporum (black truffle of Perigord) has spread throughout many countries in recent decades. Other black truffles such as T. aestivum, T. brumale, and T. mesentericum cause damage to T. melanosporum exploitation. These truffle species have been found to be very much present in the mycorrhizal contamination of natural T. melanosporum burns. Nevertheless, different studies have been unable to determine whether the aggressiveness of T. melanosporum and its resistance to this contamination pressure are qualities of the environment or of the soil. Moreover, the biological and physical-chemical conditions causing T. melanosporum burns have yet to be clarified. The aim of this study is therefore to establish the relationship between the carpophore presence of Tuber species (T. melanosporum as compared with T. aestivum and T. mesentericum) and the concentration of soil variables. Principal component analysis (PCA) and analyses of variance (ANOVAs) show ...