Impact of active soil carbonate and burn size on the capacity of the rockrose Cistus laurifolius to produce Tuber melanosporum carpophores in truffle culture

There are very few studies on Tuber melanosporum associated with Cistus populations. In central Spain, we confirm that C. laurifolius shows carpophore production of Tuber melanosporum. This study demonstrates a correlation between T. melanosporum production and the size of the 41 burns, with burn size explaining 26 % of the variability in carpophore production. However, statistical analysis of the results indicates that average production of 21 burns with Cistus laurifolius is 73 % lower than the production of 20 burns associated with Quercus/Corylus without Cistus laurifolius in this zone, respectively. C. laurifolius develops small burns, which has an impact on their carpophore production, and their soils have 92 % less active carbonate than the burns associated with Quercus/Corylus in this zone, respectively. The low levels of active carbonate allow Cistus laurifolius to grow, but impair Tuber melanosporum production. We thus provide a mechanism, based on the inability of Cistus laurifolius to grow in highly carbonated soils, which contradicts the well-known fact that C. laurifolius might act as a transmitter of Tuber melanosporum mycorrhizae. These results indicate that this rockrose can not be considered a useful species for truffle culture. We thus recommend that particular attention should be given to the concentration of active carbonate present in the soil in future studies on the relationship between Cistus species and truffles.