Contribution of fungi and bacteria to leaf litter decomposition in a polluted river

The contribution of fungi and bacteria to the decomposition of alder leaves was examined at two reference and two polluted sites in the Ave River (northwestern Portugal). Leaf mass loss, microbial production from incorporation rates of radiolabeled compounds into biomolecules, fungal biomass from ergosterol concentration, sporulation rates, and diversity of aquatic hyphomycetes associated with decomposing leaves were determined. The concentrations of organic nutrients and of inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus in the stream water was elevated and increased at downstream sites. Leaf decomposition rates were high (0.013 day(-1) < k < 0.042 day(-1)), and the highest value was estimated at the most downstream polluted site, where maximum values of microbial production and fungal biomass and sporulation were found. The slowest decomposition occurred at the other polluted site, where, along with the nutrient enrichment, the lowest current velocity and dissolved-oxygen concentration in water were observed. At this site, fungal production, biomass, and sporulation were depressed, suggesting that stimulation of fungal activity by increased nutrient concentrations might be offset by other factors. Although bacterial production was higher at polluted sites, fungi accounted for more than 94% of the total microbial net production. Fungal yield coefficients varied from 10.2 to 13.6%, while those of bacteria were less than 1%. The contribution of fungi to overall leaf carbon loss (29.0 to 38.8%) greatly exceeded that of bacteria (4.2 to 13.9%).     

Life in leaf litter: novel insights into community dynamics of bacteria and fungi during litter decomposition

Microorganisms play a crucial role in the biological decomposition of plant litter in terrestrial ecosystems. Due to the permanently changing litter quality during decomposition, studies of both fungi and bacteria at a fine taxonomic resolution are required during the whole process. Here we investigated microbial community succession in decomposing leaf litter of temperate beech forest using pyrotag sequencing of the bacterial 16S and the fungal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) rRNA genes. Our results reveal that both communities underwent rapid changes. Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes dominated over the entire study period, but their taxonomic composition and abundances changed markedly among sampling dates. The fungal community also changed dynamically as decomposition progressed, with ascomycete fungi being increasingly replaced by basidiomycetes. We found a consistent and highly significant correlation between bacterial richness and fungal richness (R = 0.76, P < 0.001) and community structure (R_Mantel = 0.85, P < 0.001), providing evidence of coupled dynamics in the fungal and bacterial communities. A network analysis highlighted nonrandom co‐occurrences among bacterial and fungal taxa as well as a shift in the cross‐kingdom co‐occurrence pattern of their communities from the early to the later stages of decomposition. During this process, macronutrients, micronutrients, C:N ratio and pH were significantly correlated with the fungal and bacterial communities, while bacterial richness positively correlated with three hydrolytic enzymes important for C, N and P acquisition. Overall, we provide evidence that the complex litter decay is the result of a dynamic cross‐kingdom functional succession.     

Ecology of ligninolytic fungi associated with leaf litter decomposition

Advances in our understanding of the decomposition processes in forest ecosystems over the past three decades have demonstrated the importance of lignin as a regulating factor in the decomposition of leaf litter. Consequently, increasingly more attention is being focused on the ecology of fungi associated with lignin decomposition. The aim of this review is to provide a critical summary of the ecology of ligninolytic fungi inhabiting leaf litter and forest floor materials. The review focuses on the following aspects of ligninolytic fungi: the taxonomic and functional diversity of ligninolytic fungi, the outcomes of interactions between ligninolytic fungi and other organisms, the activity and abundance of ligninolytic fungi measured by the production of bleached leaves and humus, the activity of ligninolytic enzymes in soil environments, the substratum and seral succession, spatial and temporal patterns in both mycelial abundance and species distribution, and the effect of environmental factors such as nitrogen deposition and global environmental changes on ligninolytic fungi. This review integrates the ecology, diversity, and activity of ligninolytic fungi into the context of an ecosystem in order to provide an understanding of the roles of ligninolytic fungi in decomposition processes. Takashi Osono is the recipient of the 11th Denzaburo Miyadi Award.     

Colonization and succession of fungi during decomposition of Swida controversa leaf litter

Decomposition processes of Swida controversa leaves were investigated in initially sterilized (fungi-excluded) and nonsterilized freshly fallen leaves to examine the relationship between chemical changes and fungal succession during decomposition and the effect of exclusion of previously established phyllosphere fungi from leaves on subsequent decomposition and fungal succession. Fifteen species were isolated frequently from decomposing leaves with surface-disinfection and washing methods. These fungi were divided into early and late colonizers according to their occurrence during decomposition. The 1.5 y decomposition process was divided into three stages characterized by different dominant organic chemical constituents. A clear relationship was demonstrated between chemical changes and fungal succession. Total hyphal length and frequencies of some early colonizers were reduced in initially sterilized leaves at 3 wk, but this had no significant effect on loss of litter mass or chemical changes during the first 3 wk or on the subsequent decomposition and fungal succession.     

Colonization and lignin decomposition of Camellia japonica leaf litter by endophytic fungi

Endophytic fungi occur on various types of leaf litter, but few studies have been done on their roles as saprophytes in decomposition. This study examined the succession of fungi in live, newly shed, and decomposing leaves at 2 months of decomposition of Camellia japonica and chemical changes in decomposing leaves colonized by endophytes. Coccomyces nipponicum, Lophodermium sp., Geniculosporium sp. 1, and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides were isolated from living leaves. Coccomyces nipponicum and Lophodermium sp. were also isolated frequently from newly shed and decomposing leaves. These two fungi caused a decrease of lignin content and bleaching in decomposing leaves under field and laboratory conditions. Total hyphal length in decomposing leaves was higher in bleached portions than in surrounding nonbleached portions, which probably reflected the early onset of hyphal growth of endophytes inside leaf tissue at leaf senescence or death. Incubation of newly shed leaves that were sterilized to exclude previously established endophytes resulted in no occurrence of bleached portions in decomposing leaves on the forest floor. This result indicated that these endophytes were incapable of colonizing leaves directly after litterfall and that the persistence of endophytes from live leaves was crucial for their colonization in decomposing leaves.     

Interactions between arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and soil bacteria

The soil environment is interesting and complicated. There are so many interactions taking place in the soil, which determine the properties of soil as a medium for the growth and activities of plants and soil microorganisms. The soil fungi, arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM), are in mutual and beneficial symbiosis with most of the terrestrial plants. AM fungi are continuously interactive with a wide range of soil microorganisms including nonbacterial soil microorganisms, plant growth promoting rhizobacteria, mycorrhiza helper bacteria and deleterious bacteria. Their interactions can have important implications in agriculture. There are some interesting interactions between the AM fungi and soil bacteria including the binding of soil bacteria to the fungal spore, the injection of molecules by bacteria into the fungal spore, the production of volatiles by bacteria and the degradation of fungal cellular wall. Such mechanisms can affect the expression of genes in AM fungi and hence their performance and ecosystem productivity. Hence, consideration of such interactive behavior is of significance. In this review, some of the most important findings regarding the interactions between AM fungi and soil bacteria with some new insights for future research are presented.     

亚热带森林根系和菌根真菌调控凋落叶分解和主场效应

根系向凋落物层生长是森林生态系统中存在的普遍现象,研究根系和菌根真菌如何调控凋落物分解对理解森林生态系统的养分循环具有重要意义。通过在亚热带楠木(丛枝菌根树种)和格氏栲(外生菌根树种)人工林中进行了2年的凋落物互换和菌根排除实验,研究根系及其共生菌根真菌如何影响森林凋落物的分解速率和主场效应。结果发现:经过720 d的分解,在楠木人工林中,根系的存在促使楠木和格氏栲凋落物的分解速度分别提高了29%和47%,而在格氏栲人工林中,根系存在对格氏栲凋落物分解无显著影响,但增加了楠木凋落物的分解速率。此外,楠木人工林中,有根和无根处理下凋落物分解均无主场效应,而格氏栲人工林凋落物仅在根系存在的情况下显示出负的主场效应。进一步发现格氏栲凋落物的负主场效应归因于楠木人工林凋落物层更大的腐生真菌丰度和更强的磷降解酶活性。结果表明,在亚热带不同菌根类型树种中,菌根真菌与腐生真菌的相互作用(拮抗或促进),很有可能通过影响磷降解酶的活性,进而影响凋落物的分解率和主场效应。     

Ecology and diversity of leaf litter fungi during early-stage decomposition in a seasonally dry tropical forest

Leaf litter samples of 12 dicotyledonous tree species (belonging to eight families) growing in a dry tropical forest and in early stages of decomposition were studied for the presence of litter fungi. Equal-sized segments of the leaves incubated in moist chambers were observed every day for 30 d for the presence of fungi. Invariably, the fungal assemblage on the litter of each tree species was dominated by a given fungal species. The diversity of fungi present in the litter varied with the tree species although many species of fungi occurred in the litter of all 12 species. A Pestalotiopsis species dominated the litter fungal assemblage of five trees and was common in the litter of all tree species. The present study and earlier studies from our lab indicate that fungi have evolved traits such as thermotolerant spores, ability to utilize toxic furaldehydes, ability to produce cell wall destructuring enzymes and an endophyte-litter fungus life style to survive and establish themselves in fire-prone forests such as the one studied here. This study shows that in the dry tropical forest, the leaf litter fungal assemblage is governed more by the environment than by the plant species.     

Relative influence of shredders and fungi on leaf litter decomposition along a river altitudinal gradient

We compared autumn decomposition rates of European alder leaves at four sites along the Lasset–Hers River system, southern France, to test whether changes in litter decomposition rates from upstream (1,300 m elevation) to downstream (690 m) could be attributed to temperature-driven differences in microbial growth, shredder activity, or composition of the shredder community. Alder leaves lost 75–87% of original mass in 57 days, of which 46–67% could be attributed to microbial metabolism and 8–29% to shredder activity, with no trend along the river. Mass loss rates in both fine-mesh (excluding shredders) and coarse-mesh (including shredders) bags were faster at warm, downstream sites (mean daily temperature 7–8°C) than upstream (mean 1–2°C), but the difference disappeared when rates were expressed in heat units to remove the temperature effect. Mycelial biomass did not correlate with mass loss rates. Faster mass loss rates upstream, after temperature correction, evidently arise from more efficient shredding by Nemourid stoneflies than by the Leuctra-dominated assemblage downstream. The influence of water temperature on decomposition rate is therefore expressed both directly, through microbial metabolism, and indirectly, through the structure of shredder communities. These influences are evident even in cold water where temperature variation is small.     

Correlation between leaf litter and fine root decomposition among subtropical tree species

Sampling disturbance has been shown to rapidly increase net nitrification rates in some forest soils. To gain insight on mechanisms, we investigated both gross and net rates of ammonification and nitrification in intact cores and mixed composite samples. Using the isotope pool dilution method, we studied samples from two northeastern USA watersheds, Brush Brook and Sleepers River in Vermont, where previous work had found high net nitrification rates. Gross ammonification was usually not significantly different between intact cores and mixed samples. However, gross and net nitrification rates in mixed samples were similar (mean ～24?µmol N?kg^?1?hr^?1 or ～8 mg N kg^?1 d^?1) and significantly higher than in intact cores (7.7 and 3.4?µmol N kg^?1?h^?1 for means of gross and net respectively). Nitrate consumption was decreased somewhat by disturbance but did not account for the large differences in net rates. Because there were similar gross ammonification rates in both treatments, increased nitrification in these disturbed soils must be a result of an increase in the utilization of ammonium by the ammonia oxidizers at the expense of other ammonium consumption pathways. Different mechanisms may operate in different soils; increased nitrification appears to be the primary pathway in these soils with high N cycling rates.     

Diversity and functioning of fungi associated with leaf litter decomposition in Asian forests of different climatic regions

The pattern of diversity and functioning of fungi associated with leaf litter decomposition in Asian forests of different climatic regions was investigated by performing meta-analysis of published data for seven tree species in subalpine, temperate, subtropical and tropical forests. Fungal assemblages were examined by using common standard isolation-culture methods, and the abilities of individual fungal species to decompose leaf litter were examined with pure culture decomposition tests. The climatic patterns of diversity, assemblage structure and genus composition depended on the method of isolation: the washing method revealed no consistent pattern, whereas the surface sterilization method showed lower diversity and greater relative abundance of dominant fungal species within the assemblages in cooler climates. The decomposing ability of species within fungal assemblages was greater in warmer than in cooler climates and in broad-leaved than in coniferous tree species. In particular, the greatest abilities to cause mass loss were found among fungi with ligninolytic activity in broad-leaved tree species in warmer climates.     

Seasonal influx and decomposition of autochthonous macrophyte litter in a north temperate estuary

An 18-month study was undertaken to determine the seasonal contribution and detrital processing of autochthonous plant litter in the Great Bay Estuary System of New-Hampshire-Maine, USA and adjacent open coast. Four species were studied: the halophytes, Spartina alterniflora Loisel. and Zostera marina L. and the seaweeds, Ascophyllum nodosum (L.) Le Jolis and Fucus vesiculosus L. v. spiralis Farlow. Monthly strand line collections at estuarine and open coastal sites provided information on the seasonal influx of litter derived from each species. Detrital inputs from S. alterniflora and Z. marina were maximal in the spring and summer, respectively. Seaweed litter was abundant (35 to 85% of the total strand line) throughout the year. The seaweeds contributed 1 to 3 times as much detrital material as the vascular plants within the Estuary, and 50 times as much on the open coast. In situ measurements of decomposition, using nylon, mesh bags, were made for each species under several environmental conditions. Seaweeds decomposed 3 to 10 times faster than vascular plant litter under similar conditions. Decomposition rates and changes in the nutrient content of litter were dependent on surrounding environmental conditions. Continual nutrient depletion occurred in litter within the strand line. Nitrogen and phosphorus enrichment were observed under submerged conditions and were attributed to microbial activity and rapid leaching of carbonaceous substrates. A computer simulation model was developed to validate the field data and to predict seasonal detrital carbon input by each species. The significance of autochthonous input is discussed in relation to other detrital sources.     

Interactions between fungi,bacteria and beech leaves in a stream microcosm

Summary Immigration and colonization of isolates of naturally occurring stream bacteria and hyphomycetes on beech leaves were studied in a laboratory stream microcosm. Fungal spores were more successful immigrants, especially on new leaves, than bacteria, which were more repelled than attracted by the substrate. Fewer bacteria immigrated to older leaves than to new, and bacteria multiplied faster in water than on leaves. Fungi and bacteria showed synergistic relationships so that each group grew significantly faster in presence of the other group. If one considers, differences in immigration, colonization and synergism patterns, fungal mycelia doubled about 10 times faster than bacterial cells which might explain the dominance of fungi usually found on leaves in early decay. The individual fungal species could be assigned to one of three colonization groups; one of fugitive species, preceding a second group of species that grew from rarity to dominance, and a third group of very slow colonizers. The leachate was fractionated in different molecular size classes by gel chromatography, and the fraction around 2500D in the new leaf leachate was associated with a high concentration of polyphenols. High-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) revealed the presence of 16 phenolic acids in the new leaf leachate at concentrations ranging from < 1 to 640 g l^–1. All fungi except the species with the slowest growth rate grew faster on leachate with the fraction around 2500D removed, and the density of bacteria was significantly reduced when pure stream water was supplemented with compounds from the same fraction.     

Effects of sediment-borne nutrient and litter quality on macrophyte decomposition and nutrient release

Macrophyte decomposition is a critical process that affects carbon and nutrient cycling, and energy flow, although the majority of the details involved in the process remain unclear. For the present study, a litter bag experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of sediment-borne nutrient and litter quality on the decomposition rates and nutrient release of four macrophyte life forms (emergent macrophyte: Phragmites australis, free-floating macrophyte: Hydrocharis dubia, floating-leaved macrophyte: Nymphoides peltata, submerged macrophyte: Ceratophyllum demersum), and a species mixture. Our results indicated that litter quality significantly influenced macrophyte decomposition and nutrient release. High-quality litter species (high initial nitrogen and phosphorus contents, as well as low C:N, C:P, and N:P ratios) decomposed more rapidly than low-quality litter species, and the initial C:N and C:P ratios, rather than the initial N and P contents, were effective indicators of the decomposition rate of macrophytes. Sediment-borne nutrients had little effect on the decomposition rate, yet a strong effect on the release of N and P, although the interactions between litter quality and sediment-borne nutrients significantly affected the decomposition rate. Three-way ANOVA analysis revealed that the litter quality imparted a more potent effect on the macrophyte decomposition rate and release of N and P than sediment-borne nutrients. These results implied that litter quality interacts with sediment-borne nutrients and may control macrophyte decomposition in shallow lakes.     

科尔沁沙地植物成熟叶片性状与叶凋落物分解的关系

采用室内培养的方法,对科尔沁沙质草地20个主要植物种(10个单子叶植物种和10个双子叶植物种)叶凋落物的CO2释放量和释放速率进行比较,同时测定了20种植物成熟叶片的热值、镁浓度、磷浓度、氮浓度、钾浓度、碳浓度、碳氮比、氮磷比、比叶面积、干物质含量以及叶面积等11项叶片性状,分析20种植物叶凋落物的CO2释放量和释放速率与11项叶片性状的相关关系.结果表明, 20种植物的叶片性状在物种间变异范围很大,大多数指标的最大值和最小值的差异在3倍以上,而个别指标如叶镁浓度差异更大,接近9倍之多.由于本项研究中的20种植物均来自于同一样地,因此认为20种植物的自身性状和遗传特性决定了其叶片性状的变异.20种植物叶凋落物培养28d的CO2释放量平均值为(4121±1713)μg kg-1,释放量最大的是尖头叶藜(8767±177)μg kg-1干土,释放量最小的是马唐(1669±47)μg kg-1,二者相差5倍以上.但20种植物叶凋落物CO2释放速率表现相同的变化趋势,培养初期凋落物分解迅速,后期分解相对缓慢.比较分析发现,双子叶植物和单子叶植物叶凋落物CO2释放量、CO2释放速率,以及成熟叶片的叶氮浓度、叶碳浓度、叶C/N和叶干物质含量之间差异显著.相关分析揭示,20种植物成熟叶片叶氮浓度、叶碳浓度、叶C/N和叶干物质含量与叶凋落物分解过程中的CO2释放量和释放速率之间呈显著的相关关系,说明可以利用成熟叶片的N浓度、C浓度、C/N以及干物质含量间接的预测叶凋落物的分解速率.