Restoration of Pine Mushroom Forests Confirmed in Goseong Wildfire-Affected Area

The possibility of restoring pine mushroom forests has been confirmed in the wildfire-affected area of Goseong.

The National Institute of Forest Science announced on November 12 that pine mushrooms have appeared for three consecutive years as part of an artificial cultivation study using pine mushroom-infected seedlings in the wildfire-damaged area of Goseong County, Gangwon Province.

Pine mushrooms have appeared for three consecutive years in the wildfire-affected area of Goseong, suggesting the possibility of restoring the pine mushroom forest. Provided by the National Institute of Forest Science

Previously, in 2007, the National Institute of Forest Science transplanted 27 pine mushroom-infected seedlings to restore the pine mushroom forest in the area affected by the large wildfire that occurred in Goseong in 1996.

Since then, the institute has confirmed the appearance of five pine mushrooms in 2023, one last year, and eleven this year, demonstrating the stability of the artificial cultivation technology.

In particular, the institute emphasized that DNA analysis based on SSR markers, which serve as a biological identification system, confirmed that the genetic type of the pine mushrooms found matched those from the infected seedling test site in Hongcheon. This scientifically verifies that the infected seedlings directly contributed to the actual occurrence of pine mushrooms.

At the Hongcheon pine mushroom-infected seedling test site, pine mushrooms have appeared for nine consecutive years since 2017, following the first occurrence in 2010.

Most notably, this year saw the emergence of 27 new pine mushrooms, an increase from 17 last year. This is attributed to suitable temperature and moisture conditions during the pine mushroom growing season, as well as forest management practices such as thinning and pruning that supported their growth.

Park Eungjun, Head of the Forest Microorganism Utilization Research Division, said, "The cases of pine mushroom emergence in Goseong and Hongcheon prove that pine mushroom-infected seedlings can be a practical means for restoring and expanding pine mushroom forests. The National Institute of Forest Science will continue to expand and distribute the technology for pine mushroom production using infected seedlings, thereby promoting the creation of pine mushroom forests and contributing to increased income for forestry workers."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.