This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Guided by the beam of a flashlight, Tino Marolo follows his dog Stella through the darkness of a Piedmont woodland, searching for one of Italy's most prized culinary treasures hidden beneath the soil. In the hills around Alba, home to the world's most famous white truffles, hunters known as "trifolau" traditionally begin their season on Oct. 1.
But increasingly, they are confronting a challenge above ground: climate change. Months of heat and drought have raised concerns about the future of the prized white truffle, a fungus that depends on cool, moist soils and a delicate relationship with tree roots. "The entire month of October was affected by the lack of rain in July and August and the high temperatures, so it was characterized by poor production and poor truffle shelf life," said Antonio Degiacomi, president of Italy's National Centre for Truffle Studies.
According to Degiacomi, dry and compacted soils have also produced smaller truffles this season. The difficult harvest comes as Alba and the surrounding Langhe hills welcome visitors for the International White Truffle Fair, one of Italy's best-known food events, which opened on Oct. 10 and runs until Dec. 6. For Axel Iberti, president of the fair, the season began slowly, with smaller truffles emerging after a hot, dry summer.
More recent rains have improved conditions, helping larger specimens appear. Despite tighter supplies, demand remains strong. Prices at Alba's truffle market are running about 20% to 30% higher than last year, Iberti said, while hotels and other accommodations have largely sold out during the fair period.
The concerns extend beyond this year's crop. "This year certainly stands out from a trend we all know has been going on for five or six years now," Degiacomi said, citing hotter summers and increasingly erratic rainfall patterns. Back in the woods, Marolo says uncertainty has always been part of the hunt.
"You certainly come home empty-handed more often than you do with a truffle," he said. "It's really the thrill of saying: I don't know what I'm going to find." Similar concerns are emerging elsewhere in Europe's truffle-producing regions, suggesting a challenge extending beyond any single forest or region. Across the Adriatic Sea in Croatia, truffle hunters and scientists describe many of the same challenges, from shrinking harvests to declining habitat suitability.
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