Hamer Center for Community Design, The Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, 16801, USA.
The World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), East and Central Asia, Kunming, Yunnan, China.
Environ Manage. 2018 Feb;61(2):263-274. doi: 10.1007/s00267-017-0976-3. Epub 2017 Dec 22.
Matsutake mushrooms are an important part of rural livelihoods and forest ecosystems across large parts of China, as well as elsewhere in East Asia, Northern Europe and North America. Mushroom harvesters have developed sophisticated understandings of matsutake ecology and production, and are applying this knowledge in various innovative management strategies. At the same time, Chinese government agencies and scientists are promoting matsutake-based livelihoods to support development and conservation goals. We collaborated with matsutake harvesters in one Yunnan community to carry out a systematic experiment on a popular shiro-level management technique: covering matsutake shiros with either plastic or leaf litter. Our experimental results suggest that although leaf litter coverings are superior to plastic coverings, shiros that are left uncovered may produce the highest yields. Complementing our experimental work is a multi-sited household survey of existing matsutake management practices across Yunnan, which shows that a high proportion of harvesters are already engaged in a broad range of potentially beneficial management strategies. Though both findings highlight limitations of previous initiatives led by government and research actors in China, this existing body of work is an important foundation and opportunity for developing applied mycology in the region. In and beyond China, working with communities to develop site-specific management strategies through rigorous and participatory scientific inquiry can provide salient benefits for both scientists and resource users.
松茸是中国大部分地区以及东亚、北欧和北美等地区农村生计和森林生态系统的重要组成部分。蘑菇采摘者对松茸的生态和生产有了深入的了解，并将这些知识应用于各种创新的管理策略中。与此同时，中国政府机构和科学家正在推广基于松茸的生计，以支持发展和保护目标。我们与云南的一个社区的松茸采摘者合作，对一种流行的白灰级管理技术进行了系统实验：用塑料或落叶覆盖松茸。我们的实验结果表明，虽然落叶覆盖物优于塑料覆盖物，但不覆盖的松茸可能会产生最高的产量。我们的实验工作还补充了对云南现有松茸管理实践的多地点家庭调查，该调查显示，很大一部分采摘者已经在从事广泛的潜在有益管理策略。虽然这两个发现都强调了中国政府和研究人员以前的举措的局限性，但现有的这部分工作是该地区发展应用真菌学的重要基础和机会。在中国内外，通过严格和参与性的科学探究与社区合作制定特定地点的管理策略，可以为科学家和资源使用者带来显著的好处。
