Black Truffle Production in European Threatened By Climate Change

December 8, 2018 /

Scientist predict that climate change may permanently end Europe's truffle industry by 2071. Credit Food & Wine video

As stated in a recent article featured in Wine & Food Magazine: ‘A recent study suggests the European truffle industry could be done by 2071 or sooner.’ This was based on a paper from Scotland’s University of Stirling entitled “A risk assessment of Europe’s black truffle sector under predicted climate change” and published last month in Science of the Total Environment (that) included some potentially dire findings. “Our new study predicts that, under the most likely climate change scenario, European truffle production will decline by between 78 and 100 per cent between 2071 and 2100,” explained lead researcher Dr. Paul Thomas from the Faculty of Natural Sciences (and American Truffle Company’s Chief Scientist)…

Climate change may end black truffle production in Europe. Credit Food & Wine video

“These findings indicate that conservational initiatives are required to afford some protection to this important and iconic species…(including) the expansion of truffle plantations into new territories of a more favorable future climate,” says Dr. Thomas.

For over a decade, Dr. Thomas has planted and successfully produced black European truffles in other parts of the world, including Wales, Macedonia and North America, where he partnered with Robert Chang to create the American Truffle Company.

“We founded American Truffle Company to offer a much more reliable and predictable truffle cultivation process based entirely on top-notch science and continuing research,” says Chief Truffle Officer Robert Chang. “Anyone can plant truffle trees, but actually producing truffles depends on science and knowledge.”

Brushing Black Truffle. Credit Food & Wine video

The customary truffle cultivation method of trial-and-error without rigorous scientific basis accounts for the extremely high failure rates of truffle orchards. To be successful at truffle cultivation requires rigorous science that’s largely unavailable in the public domain. “Our cutting-edge truffle science is customized and applied to specific soils, microclimates and other conditions to ensure that the best science and knowledge are applied,” says Chang.

Read the full article.

For more information about truffle cultivation, visit www.americantruffle.com.