The escalating impacts of climate change, characterized by rising average temperatures and erratic precipitation patterns, pose a significant threat to Mediterranean-climate ecosystems and high-revenue agricultural products. Among these, the Italian white truffle (Tuber magnatum Picco) represents one of the most economically valuable yet vulnerable species, with market prices reaching €4600 kg⁻¹ in 2025. Due to the persistent challenges in large-scale domestication and its reliance on specific wild habitats, the sustainability of T. magnatum production is increasingly jeopardized by prolonged droughts. This study presents a field-based case study conducted in a natural truffière in central Italy, aimed at evaluating the effects of climatic stressors and exploring the potential role of irrigation as an adaptive management strategy. A small-scale irrigation experiment was implemented over a single growing season using a Before–After–Control–Impact framework, combined with soil moisture modelling and T. magnatum DNA amount monitoring. The results indicate that supplemental irrigation can mitigate summer soil water deficits and reduce the decline in T. magnatum DNA under drought conditions. However, given the limited spatial and temporal scale of the experiment and the limited number of ascocarps collected during the study period, these findings should be considered preliminary. Overall, this study provides initial evidence that targeted irrigation may represent a promising approach to support the resilience of natural truffières under climate variability while highlighting the need for long-term and larger-scale investigations to validate its effectiveness.

Valued above all others, the white truffle species (Tuber magnatum Picco) is highly dependent on the forest ecosystem and its underground biology. Despite its economic importance, knowledge of its biology and mycorrhizal symbioses remains limited; moreover, natural yields have sharply declined, and cultivation efforts have produced inconsistent results. This study evaluated various forest and mycorrhizal inoculation techniques to promote T. magnatum mycelium development in three Tuscan sites converted to truffle cultivation, using qPCR analysis. Alongside conventional practices like irrigation, mulching, and tillage, an experimental method with a sterile, spore-inoculated soil barrier was tested to improve host root establishment, enhance mycorrhization, and maintain long-term symbiosis for healthy truffle ecosystems. Soil analyses nine months after planting Quercus robur L. seedlings showed significant differences in Tuber magnatum mycelium abundance across sites and treatments. The MA treatment—mycorrhized seedlings combined with a sterile, inoculated substrate and separation diaphragm—produced the highest mycelial levels, underscoring the importance of initial mycorrhization and soil manipulation. These findings provide valuable insights for optimizing forest management and improving truffle cultivation by enhancing mycelial development, a key step toward increasing truffle production.

Forests sustain high levels of biodiversity and essential ecosystem services, yet the impact of management practices on below-ground functioning remains difficult to assess. A comprehensive evaluation of ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungal diversity is, therefore, required to better understand ecosystem dynamics. This study, conducted within the SelpiBioLife project, examined ECM community structure in two Pinus nigra J.F. Arnold forests in central Italy by integrating above- and below-ground sampling. Across 108 plots, ECM fruiting bodies (EMFb) were recorded during one fruiting season, and 54 soil cores were collected to characterize ECM root tips (EMRt) through morpho-anatomical analyses and ITS sequencing. Species richness and community composition were compared using rarefaction, PERMANOVA, NMDS, Mantel tests, and SIMPER analysis. A total of 70 EMFb species and 54 EMRt morphotypes were identified, displaying significant differences between sites and sampling types. EMFb surveys revealed greater richness, whereas EMRt reached sampling saturation only at one site, suggesting additional hidden diversity. Distinct community patterns were detected in ordination space, and weak correlations emerged between EMFb and EMRt dissimilarities, indicating complementary ecological information. These findings show that single-method monitoring underrepresents ECM diversity. Combined above- and below-ground investigations provide a more accurate basis for evaluating silvicultural impacts and maintaining forest ecosystem resilience.