Drought nearly ends Styria’s mushroom season

Weeks of drought and heat have almost halted mushroom growth in Styria, ORF reported on Tuesday. Foragers are finding only a few chanterelles and porcini mushrooms, mainly at higher elevations.

Mycologist Uwe Kozina, who has studied fungi in Styria for four decades, said he had never experienced conditions like this. The region has had dry periods lasting several weeks before, he said, but not two months of drought combined with high temperatures.

The effects extend deep into the forest floor, which is dry to a depth of up to 80 centimetres in some places. As a result, mushrooms can barely form fruiting bodies, Kozina said. Conditions are somewhat better at elevations of about 1,000 metres and above, where isolated porcini and chanterelles can still be found.

Kozina has already written off this summer’s mushroom season. He said July and August could increasingly cease to be months for mushroom picking, with the season shifting towards September and October.

The shortage of locally grown mushrooms is also affecting restaurants. Klaus Friedl, head of the gastronomy association, said businesses had been forced to use imported mushrooms and chanterelles. Restaurants were accustomed to receiving large quantities of chanterelles from the region, he said, but the drought had left them with no alternative.

Friedl said the imported mushrooms were no different in quality from local produce, although they were somewhat more expensive. Foragers could still hope for a strong autumn season: if enough rain falls, this year’s season could last until the middle of November.