What makes mushrooms grow in one place and not another is not even entirely understood by mycologists and I am not one. My reference library is pretty large, too, so I’ve done some reading on the subject. However, I would guess that the salt did cause the soil to stop being a welcome place for the puffballs.
I’ve noticed that chanterelles and boletes do tend to appear in the same place year to year - shaggy manes also. I think it may have more to do with the nutrients in the soil as apposed to any root system. The mushrooms that aren’t picked leave their spores in the same area where they grow and then grow from the spores taking root the next year or whatever year they appear again. Weather conditions also have an effect on it for sure.
There are some great references on mushrooms on the internet. Many are on university sites. But here is one that is really detailed:
Wish I knew the answer to your question but I am just guessing. Maybe you can find a lead on the above site or by Scroogling it - something like “growing conditions mushrooms” might be a good start.
Hope your puffballs come back. They are to die for when picked all white on the interior, sliced and then browned in a skillet in butter. Yummee!
I really wasn’t sure thats what they were at first...I took one to a local restaurant that had a chef that wore a real high cap, so I thought he might know something about them...Yep they were puffballs and he said as a child his mother would slice them like a pancake put in a frying pan and with a little syrup they were heavenly.. But because of government regulation wild mushrooms are not usable in any restaurant. The morels are pretty patchy when I do spot them...a couple of years ago while walking the property with my son we found 2 handfuls of morel. They haven’t grown there since...strange little fungi...He said they were delicious...