A. Species
Scientific name: Tuber melanosporum
Common name(s): European black truffle
Global IUCN Red List Threat Status:
B. Location of use
Geographic location(s):
- Spain (mainland)
Country/Region: Spain
C. Scale of assessment
Scale of assessment: National Level
Name/Details of location: Spain with especial emphasis on Teruel and Castelló provinces
D. Timescale of use
Start Year: 1969
End Year: 2015
E. Information about the use
How is the wild species sourced?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat
Type of use: Extractive
Practice of use: Gathering/Cutting/Collecting terrestrial plants and fungi or their products from the wild
Lethal or non-lethal: Non-Lethal
Does this use involve take/extraction of: Only parts or products of the organism
Purpose(s) of end use: Food and feed
Motivation of use: Basic subsistence, Income generation from trade (individual/household/community), Largescale commercial exploitation for trade and Traditional/Cultural/Spiritual
Is this use legal or illegal?: Legal under national law
F. Information about the Users
Which stakeholder(s) does the record primarily focus on?: Local people and National / local private sector
G. Information about the sustainability of use
Is there evidence that the use is having an impact on the target species?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an ecological perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered unsustainable
Details of assessment carried out: Authors' opinion based on the long-term data presented in this study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Authors state "Experts agree that wild truffle yields suffered a sharp decline during the 1970s and 1980s and wild harvest is still declining"
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an economic perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable
Details of assessment carried out: This study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Increasing proportion of cultivated truffles since the mid-1990s (10% in 1998 to 60% in 2012) where these plantations have helped black truffle production to recover and ensure economic sustainability of plantation truffles. However, authors emphasise that "In the current scenario, the decline of wild harvest is likely to continue and eventually make commercial harvesting economically unattractive, thus aggravating sustainability issues."
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a social perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable
Details of assessment carried out: This study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Increasing proportion of cultivated truffles since the mid-1990s (10% in 1998 to 60% in 2012) where these plantations have helped black truffle production to recover and ensure economic sustainability of plantation truffles. However, authors emphasise that "In the current scenario, the decline of wild harvest is likely to continue and eventually make commercial harvesting economically unattractive, thus aggravating sustainability issues."
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a human health perspective been recorded?: not recorded
Details of assessment carried out: This study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Not recorded
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an animal health/welfare perspective been recorded?: not recorded
Details of assessment carried out: This study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: It's a plant.
Recommendations provided in the record to maintain or enhance the sustainability of the use of the target species
Strengthening of property rights, rationalization of harvesting pressure, forest planning and involvement of public stakeholders are proposed as corrective measures.
Record source
Information about the record source: scientific_pub
Date of publication/issue/production: 2018-01-01T00:00:00+0000
Source Reference(s):
Date of record entry: 2022-12-12