hi Rosemary
I'm afraid that the answer to your question is essentially no. Chantarelles are "obligate mycorrhizal fungi", which means that for all intents and purposes they only produce mushrooms when they are growing in close association with the roots of certain trees. The trees, which must be fairly mature, supply nutrients to the chantarelle enabling it to fruit while in return the chanterelle helps the tree to absorb more water. Transplanting the soil will disrupt this relationship and the chantarelles will be unable to fruit in their new patch.

If I were you I would leave the soil where it is. The chantarelles may have formed an association with the roots of other mature trees located some distance away, as is often the case, and so they might survive your construction work and continue to fruit in the same place.

Your question is an interesting one because the chanterelle industry is worth millions and yet relies almost entirely on wild-picked produce because scientists are only just starting to figure out how to grow them without trees.

Alternatively, it is possible to introduce chantarelle spores or spawn to tree seedlings and create new patches in this manner, but it is a long-term process without guaranteed results. Introducing such material to mature trees is thought to be pointless because the roots will already be fully colonized by other fungal partners.

Hope this helps

mits

Mitusko,
Thanks for the info. I have also researched this online a bit and it doesn't look promising. I am going to do my best not to disturb the chanterelle bed, but the tree coming out may prove to be its demise anyway. Hopefully, there will be other patches, though I haven't come across them yet. Rosemary

That's exactly what I was thinking.

They are a mycorrhizal fungi.