Humid tropical forest soils are characterized by low and fluctuating redox, conditions which are thought to inhibit organic matter degradation by microbes. However, evidence suggests that soil microbial communities are adapted to the redox conditions in these ecosystems. In this study we tested the hypothesis that soil oxygen (O2) availability as an index of redox conditions structures patterns...

Mycorrhizal fungi play a central role in plant nutrition and nutrient cycling, yet our understanding on their effects free-living microbes, soil carbon (C) decomposition CO2 fluxes remains limited. Here we used trenches lined with mesh screens of varying sizes to isolate mycorrhizal hyphal C dynamics subtropical successional forests. We found that the presence hyphae suppressed by 17% early-suc...

The differences between aquatic and terrestrial habitats could change microbial community composition regulate litter decomposition in a subtropical forest, but the linkage remains uncertain. Using phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs), associated with organisms was monitored to characterize of communities forest floor, headwater stream, intermittent stream. Habitat type did not significantly affect...

The symbiotic partnership of plants and fungi was a critical means nutrient uptake during colonization the terrestrial surface. Lower Devonian Rhynie Chert shows evidence for extensive phosphorus mobilization in plant debris that pervasively colonized by fungi. Sandy sediment entrapped with fungi-rich phytodebris contains grains phosphate mineral monazite which exhibit alteration to highly poro...

BACKGROUND Fungal endophytes inhabit symptomless, living tissues of all major plant lineages to form one of earth's most prevalent groups of symbionts. Many reproduce from senesced and/or decomposing leaves and can produce extracellular leaf-degrading enzymes, blurring the line between symbiotrophy and saprotrophy. To better understand the endophyte-saprotroph continuum we compared fungal commu...

Introduction Fungi are adapted to a diverse array of freshwater ecosystems. In streams and rivers, flowing water provides a mechanism for downstream dispersal of fungal propagules. The dominant group of fungi in these habitats, aquatic hyphomycetes, have conidia that are morphologically adapted (tetraradiate and sigmoid) for attachment to their substrates (leaf litter andwoody debris from ripar...

Root carbon (C) inputs may regulate decomposition rates in soil, and in this study we ask: how do labile C inputs regulate decomposition of plant residues, and soil microbial communities? In a 14 d laboratory incubation, we added C compounds often found in root exudates in seven different concentrations (0, 0.7, 1.4, 3.6, 7.2, 14.4 and 21.7 mg C g(-1) soil) to soils amended with and without (13...

Litter decomposition is a keystone ecosystem process impacting nutrient cycling and productivity, soil properties, and the terrestrial carbon (C) balance, but the factors regulating decomposition rate are still poorly understood. Traditional models assume that the rate is controlled by litter quality, relying on parameters such as lignin content as predictors. However, a strong correlation has ...

Changing climate is expected to alter precipitation patterns in the Arctic, with consequences for subsurface temperature and moisture conditions, community structure, and nutrient mobilization through microbial belowground processes. Here, we address the effect of increased snow depth on the variation in species richness and community structure of ectomycorrhizal (ECM) and saprotrophic fungi. S...