Threats and concerns in the management of stone pine in Portugal: insights from a survey among stakeholders

Submitted by alexandrac on 26 May 2020
Results of the survey

The forest area of stone pine, Pinus pinea, has increased significantly in Portugal in the last 30 years, following the same trend of other Mediterranean countries. At the same time, forest stakeholders report losses in cone production and yield and question on the best management practices to face a already changing climate.

During a Science to Practice event entitled "Stone pine and pine nuts: more knowledge for a better management" held in Lisbon in October 2019, we conducted a survey were we were able to assess the stakeholders' concerns with the pine nut value chain...

Vigil’Encre: a citizen science project dedicated to the chestnut ink disease

Submitted by Haimad Baudrill... on 4 May 2020
Chestnut forest mortality due to Ink disease

The mobile app Vigil’Encre enables citizens to detect the chestnut ink disease (CID) - the most damaging disease for chestnut trees. Vigil’Encre applies a new approach to advance ecology, education and conservation, as it allows the public to participate in the tree health preservation.

Its broad functionality lets citizen scientists to diagnose the disease, characterize pathogens, describe their biology and in this way to actively take part in the sustainable crop protection.

Micophilia in modern Greece. The case of mushroom associations

Submitted by Kalliopi Stara on 24 April 2020
Snapshot of the 11th mushroom festival organized by the Mushroom Society of Epirus in Ζagori, in June 2019. INCREdible project partners, mushrooms’ members and administration representatives had the opportunity to discuss about mushroom issues bridging different opinions and views.

Greece was until recently considered as a country where mushroom consumption was limited to few species per region. Mushroom were for most Greeks an occasional food, linked to poverty, the "meat of the poor", as they used to call them, that helped rural populations to survive the years of WWII.   However, over the last 20 years the picture has changed dramatically as mushrooms are nowadays at the focus of a broader movement, which integrates individual research artistic-creative and entrepreneurial actions related to mushrooms to an activity with a strong social character.

EUROPEAN MYCOLOGICAL INSTITUTE (EMI): Towards the Territorial Cooperation of wild edible mushrooms

Submitted by Bonet on 14 April 2020

The EMI’s mission is to support the wild edible mushrooms sector in Europe. The EMI's origin relies on: a) the lack of data and reliable statistics, b) the lack of management (mycosilviculture) guidelines adapted to climate change, c) the lack of a governance and regulation system fitted for controlling collection and market globalization, among others.

For solving those shortcomings, the EMI will support stakeholders in the territorial transitions by means of exchanging good practices, research and innovation, in order to take advantage of the European Cooperation for a joint...