The recent wildfire in a Tibetan-populated area of China’s Sichuan province devastated vast forests filled with pine and oak trees, which were home to a valuable resource and economic lifeline for residents – matsutake mushrooms.
The wildfire, which started in March in Nyagchu county (Yajiang in Chinese) in Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, forced 3,000 people from the traditional Kham region of Tibet to evacuate the area and destroyed several houses. Fortunately, no human casualties were reported.
However, the fire wiped out about one-sixth of the county’s matsutake production, according to Chen Wen, director of the Yajiang Matsutake Industrial Park.
These mushrooms, gathered by Tibetans to supplement their income and used in dishes in Japan, South Korea, and China, may not grow again in the burned area for at least 20 years.
China is the world’s largest producer and exporter of matsutake mushrooms, exporting $30.3 million in 2022, with Japan being the top importer at $24.7 million that year.
The main areas where these mushrooms grow in China are within the Tibetan plateau, including Nyagchu county, which accounted for over 12% of China’s annual output.
Demanding yet profitable
Many families in Nyagchu, where Tibetans make up the majority of the county’s population of over 51,000, have been foraging for these elusive mushrooms in the cold mountain air during the traditional harvest season from July to September.
Foraging for matsutake is a demanding but lucrative job, with harvesters spending weeks at high altitudes in harsh weather conditions to search for these mushrooms. Some varieties are rare and require meticulous searching, while others grow underground and need careful removal.
“During the harvest season, you can earn over 2,000 yuan (about $300) in a day,” shared a source from Tibet who preferred to remain anonymous.
Residents fear that the fire’s impact may lead some Tibetans to give up matsutake harvesting and look for alternative sources of income elsewhere.
Despite the wildfire’s consequences, Sichuan provincial representatives did not address the potential effects on the livelihoods of Tibetans reliant on matsutake harvesting during a recent press conference.
The fire also harmed the local ecosystem, resulting in the death of birds and insects crucial for mushroom growth, as mentioned by a local resident. The long-term ecological effects of the blaze remain uncertain.
“Nyagchu is famous for its naturally grown matsutake, and the harvest is a vital income source for many Tibetan families in the county,” stated Tsering Palden, a native of Nyagchu based in Washington, who has previously sold these mushrooms.
Palden estimates that households in the area earn around 200,000 yuan (approximately $28,000) annually from selling matsutake mushrooms.
‘Oak mushrooms’
In Tibet, matsutake mushrooms are commonly known as “oak mushrooms,” or beshing shamo and besha in Tibetan, acknowledging their symbiotic connection with evergreen oak trees in Tibet.
Michael Hathaway, a professor of anthropology at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada, in his 2022 book “What a Mushroom Lives for: Matsutake and the Worlds They Make,” describes how Tibetan villagers in Yunan province search for these mushrooms.
The villagers collect the mushrooms in the morning and return home when dealers show up at markets or drive along the roads, purchasing the mushrooms as they go. These dealers then sell the matsutake to other traders who arrange for their shipment across China, Japan, and South Korea.
Over the past 40 years, the price of matsutake mushrooms has risen from about $1 per pound (2.2 kg) in 1985 to $70 per pound, as stated by Beijing-based Tibetan writer and poet Tsering Woeser.
These mushrooms require specific environmental conditions for growth and thrive in undisturbed, high-altitude forests with the right balance of sunlight and moisture, according to the source from Tibet.
“The fire has disrupted these conditions, and it may take years for the ecosystem to recover sufficiently to support matsutake growth,” the source added.
Translated and edited by Tenzin Pema for RFA Tibetan. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.
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