Lleida Pyrenees' mushroom season will start almost a month earlier than usual, as the rains of the last 15 days have brought forward the appearance of the first mushrooms, which usually sprout between the end of this month and the beginning of October, stated the managers of the Centre Tecnológico Forestal de Catalunya.
As a result, producers in Alt Urgell, Alta Ribagorça, Cerdanya, and Val d'Aran have already started the collection of milkcap, Boletus edulis, and some chanterelles (the latter outside Lleida, in the Berguedà).
"It has rained 30 to 50 liters per square meter every day for the last fifteen days in some places. This has served to soak the forest floor, despite the extreme drought situation this summer," the same sources stressed. In fact, according to the technicians of the center, this has been the third-driest hydrological year of this century in Spain, only behind 2004-2005 and 2011-2012.
They also forecasted that the rains would continue in the coming days in the mountain areas, which will allow the trees to recover. The appearance of the first mushrooms confirms that the forest has the capacity to overcome the drought.
Source: segre.com