New University of Montana Study Quantifies Morel Mushroom Abundance After Wildfire Published: July

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MISSOULA - University of Montana forest ecology Professor Andrew Larson recently published research estimating the abundance of morel mushrooms after a wildfire in California's Sierra Nevada.

"So many people love to harvest and eat morel mushrooms," Larson said, "but there is very little research that measures the abundance of morels after a forest has burned. We wanted to give forest managers concrete data on morel abundance."

Larson and his co-authors conducted their study in the Yosemite Forest Dynamics Plot, a long-term research site located in Yosemite National Park. A fire burned the research site in September 2013, killing more than 70 percent of the trees. Researchers then surveyed for morels in May 2014 in 1,119 small sample plots within the research site.

Where morels were found, researchers discovered most of the ground surface was 100 percent burned by fire. Morels typically are found close together, yet unevenly distributed across the landscape.

http://www.sciencenewsline.com/news/2016072614400053.html

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1. tasty!

but watch out for lead if you find them in a city.