![]() We estimate the potential of EMF cultivation by integrating production figures with current data on GHG flux of wooded systems ( 12). Proposed EMF cultivation involves tree planting as orchard-like systems ( 5) or methods closer to afforestation with conservational goals ( 4), but in either method understanding of the GHG flux of the plant-partner component was previously unknown. Another potential major benefit is carbon sequestration and the ability to help mitigate anthropogenically driven greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the resulting impact on the climate ( 4– 6). The harvesting of EMF can play an important role in rural socioeconomic development by providing a significant food source ( 4, 6). ![]() Although the field is nascent, it shows great promise and a full roadmap has recently been published suggesting implementation in the neotropics, to combine biodiversity and conservational goals with food production and afforestation using Lactarius indigo ( 4). Nevertheless, the figure of 1,089 kg ha −1 gives a good indication as to what is possible ( 5), and as the field is expanded, it is expected that more species will be identified with different bioclimatic preferences and yield potentials. ![]() ![]() Additional experimentation has also been successful in France ( 9) and in New Zealand, where a markedly higher production figure of 3,000 kg ha −1 has been reported, although this latter report is lacking in detail ( 10). deliciosus presents annual yields of up to 1,089 kg ha −1, dependent on the methods employed ( 5). Aside from the Tuber genus, cultivation of EMF has been an under-researched field, and although progress has been made with the cosmopolitan Suillus and Astraeus genera ( 5), the greatest advance has been in the widely distributed Lactarius genus ( Fig. 1) and mostly with the appreciated European Lactarius deliciosus. Since the 1970s, the Périgord truffle ( Tuber melanosporum), a climate sensitive Mediterranean EMF, has been widely and successfully cultivated ( 7, 8). Given the additional biodiversity, conservational and rural socioeconomic potential, we call for action and development to realize the sustainable benefits of EMF cultivation.ĮMF are plant symbionts, exchanging nutrition for plant-derived carbohydrates through a structure with the host plants root system known as mycorrhiza, and include over 900 edible species ( 6). Further, we calculate the missed food production opportunity of not incorporating EMF cultivation into current forestry activities, an approach that could enhance food security for millions of people. Depending on the habitat type and tree age, greenhouse gas emissions may range from −858 to 526 kg CO 2-eq kg −1 protein and the sequestration potential stands in stark contrast to nine other major food groups. Although, when compared to other food groups, we show that EMF cultivation is inefficient in terms of land use with a needed area of ~668 m 2 y kg −1 protein, the additional benefits are vast. Here we show that inoculating the root system of tree planting stock with edible ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF) can reduce the food-forestry land-use conflict, enabling appropriately managed forestry plantations to contribute to protein and calorie production and potentially increasing carbon sequestration. Demand for agricultural land is a potent accelerating driver of global deforestation, presenting multiple interacting issues at different spatiotemporal scales.
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