Litter Fungi Research Articles

The effects of agricultural management on the soil biota of some upland grasslands

Intensification of sheep farming in the uplands has caused concern in terms of over-production and conservation of wildlife and landscape. Changes in UK agricultural policy to combat these problems are likely to result in reduced pasture improvement and sheep grazing in the uplands. This paper examines the effects, on three adjacent uplands grasslands, of different intensities of sheep management on the soil biota. The effects of short-term removal of sheep grazing by fenced exclosure were also studied. After preliminary investigations the soil Collembola, in particular the fungal-feeding species Onychiurus procampatus, were selected for further study. Field sampling revealed simultaneous trends of decreasing Collembola numbers and increasing total hyphal length and biomass of fungi in the surface soil, together with differences in chemical and physical soil properties, along a gradient of reduced sheep management intensity. Similar changes occurred when sheep grazing was removed by fenced exclosures. The abundance of fluorescein diacetate-active hyphae within the surface soil was shown to vary little along the same gradient of reduced sheep management intensity. The relative abundance of the seven most commonly isolated species of litter fungi varied along the same gradient of sheep management. The findings are discussed in relation to other grassland studies.

The effect of temperature and substratum on competition among three species of forest litter microfungi

The influence of temperature, substratum type and presence of other fungi on the ability of two low temperature (LT) fungi ( Geomyces pannorus and Mortierella hyalina ) and one mesophile ( Trichoderma longibrachiatum ) to germinate, grow and reproduce in an in vitro system was examined. To determine how physical and biotic factors interact to affect niche differentiation among these fungi, spores of each species were placed either singly or in species pairs on oak leaf discs or moth wings and incubated at 0°C, 10° and 20°. When incubated singly, the two LT species grew on both substrata at all three temperatures. However, the presence of T. longibrachiatrum reduced sporulation of G. pannorus and M. hyalina on oak leaves and moth wings at 20°. At 10° T. longibrachiatum proved to be a more effective competitor on oak leaves, while M. hyalina was the best competitor on moth wings. At 0° T. longibrachiatum did not grow on either substratum. Mortierella hyalina was highly competitive against G. pannorus on moth wings at 0°, while G. pannorus was a better competitor than M. hyalina on oak leaves. These results suggest that these soil and litter fungi can occupy separate temporal and spatial niches that are temperature and substrate controlled. During colder seasons when competition from mesophiles such as T. longibrachiatum may be limited, G. pannorus and M. hyalina may be active in the forest floor on plant and invertebrate remains, respectively. Although these LT species are potentially able to colonize these substrata at 20°, their activity may be restricted by interactions with mesophilic fungi in warmer months. However, the relatively high competitive ability of M. hyalina on moth wings even at 20° implies that it could retain a niche on invertebrate remains in litter and upper soil horizons during warmer seasons. The activity of LT fungi throughout much of the year in the forest floor of temperature forests, as well as their roles in deep soil decompositional processes, may be more important than previously recognized.

Carabodes niger Banks, C. polyporetes n.sp., and unverified records of C. areolatus Berlese (Acari: Oribatida: Carabodidae) in North America

Adults and immatures of Carabodes polyporetes n.sp. are described and the adults are compared with those of Carabodes niger Banks. The distribution of C. niger is corrected, from Nova Scotia south along the Atlantic Coast to South Carolina, west from Pennsylvania to Missouri and Arkansas; the distribution of C. polyporetes is from Newfoundland west to Manitoba and south to North Carolina and Arkansas. Adults of both species are abundant in forest leaf litter, decayed wood, and polyporous fungi. The occurrence of Carabodes areolatus Berlese in North America is shown to be undocumented.

Water potential of standing-dead shoots of an intertidal grass.

Dead stems and leaves of smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora Loisel.) undergo substantial fungal decay in the standing position. We conducted a series of experiments to determine the probable range of water availabilities that cordgrass-fungal decomposers experience; we determined the effects of duration of wetting and drying, site on shoots, leaching of osmotica, and stage of decomposition on water potential (ψ) of cordgrass shoots. Dried pieces of cordgrass shoots took up water rapidly when submerged, rising from values which were probably less than -150 megapascals (MPa) water potential to about -3.5 (soaked in seawater) or -1.5 (soaked in tapwater) within 5 min. Air-drying resulted in a return to low ψ (<-7.5 MPa) within an hour. Literature reports show that most litter and wood-decomposing fungi which have been tested cannot grow at ψ more negative than -6 MPa. The more lignified stems showed a more negative matric ψ than leaves at water contents greater than 25% fresh weight. As leaves decomposed in the marsh, their ψ increased (from -1.7 to -0.5 MPa, under standard conditions of 30 min freshwater soaking and 30 min air-drying), similar to what other investigators have found for wheat and forest litter. The water content at which cordgrass leaves reached -6 MPa was about 23% fresh weight, within the range (15-32%) found for wheat straw and forest litter.

An Analysis of Fungal Communities Isolated from Fruticose Lichens

The colonization by filamentous fungi of seventeen samples of fruticose lichens belonging to the genera Cladonia and Sterocaulon collected at one site in the southern Black Forest, FRG, has been studied. A total of 506 fungal strain types were isolated: 166 of them were isolated more than once and 62 of these sporulated and were identified to genus or species. The isolates can be assigned to three ecological groups: soil and litter fungi, symbionts or pathogens of higher plants, and apparently specific lichen-inhabiting taxa. Community ordination was done by cluster and principal component analysis using the taxa that accounted for at least 3% of the isolates in at least one sample. The results clearly demonstrate that the thalli of fruticose lichens harbor a great variety of filamentous fungi. They do not appear to be very specific to one host or confined to only one microhabitat. It can be assumed, however, that many of the observed fungi are in some way associated with their hosts and are not only passive random colonizers.

Effects of temperature on growth rates of fungi from subantarctic Macquarie Island and Casey, Antarctica

The linear growth rates of fungal isolates were measured on agar plates at temperatures ranging from 4° to 35°C. Fungi tested included the major fungal colonizers of leaves and litter of the three dominant plant species on subantarctic Macquarie Island, and major fungal species associated with plant and soil communities near Australia's Casey Station on the Antarctic Continent. All fungi grew at 4°C and were classified as psychrotrophs. Maximum growth rates were recorded at temperatures of 10° to 20°C for 13 of the 15 isolates from Macquarie Island and for all six isolates from Casey. Most of the leaf colonizing fungi from Macquarie Island had optimum growth temperatures of 15°C whereas all litter fungi from Macquarie Island and Casey fungi except Thelebolus microsporus had optimum growth temperatures of 20°C or above. Maximum growth of all species was at temperatures above those normally prevailing in their natural environments, with most species growing at 4°C at between 10% and 30% of their maximum rates. However, microclimatic effects may have resulted at times in temperatures near their growth optima. The highest growth rates at 4°C were recorded for Phoma spp. 1 and 2, Phoma exigua and Mortierella gamsii from Macquarie Island and Mortierella sp. 1 from Casey. Thelebolus microsporus and sterile sp. G from Casey also grew relatively fast at 4°C, and these species, and Phoma sp. 3 and Phoma exigua from Macquarie Island had the lowest Q-10 values for the temperature range 4° to 15°C.

Litter Decomposition Across an Air‐Pollution Gradient in the San Bernardino Mountains

AbstractAir pollution may affect forest ecosystems by altering nutrient cycling rates. The objective of this study was to compare decomposition rates of L‐layer litter of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Laws.) and Jeffrey pine (Pinus jeffreyi Grev. &amp; Balf.) collected from across an air‐pollution gradient in the San Bernardino Mountains in southern California. Litter from the more polluted western areas decomposed at a significantly (P = 0.01) faster rate than litter from plots in areas exposed to moderate or low pollution levels. The Shannon diversity index values for litter fungi were 1.41, 1.84, and 2.25 for plots in areas exposed to low, moderate, and high pollution levels. Nitrogen content of litter was greatest in the high pollution plots and was positively correlated with litter decomposition rate. Higher N and lower Ca content of litter at the more polluted western sites suggest that litter in the western plots originates from younger foliage than litter at the less polluted sites, possibly because of ozone (O3)‐induced needle abscission. Possible factors contributing to increased decomposition and fungal diversity in the western plots include: higher litter nutrient content because litter originates from younger foliage, higher soil N levels which may result in higher foliar N content, greater input of N from air pollution, and O3 damage to needles creating favorable sites for microbial decomposers.

The role of fungi in periodically inundated Amazonian forests

In a comparative survey the terms (terra-firme) flood plain, igapo, varzea with and without black water influence are reviewed and the importance of ectotrophic mycorrhiza for their definition emphasized. Varzea alta with fluvisol base is briefly characterized and a first list of Basidiomycetes collected in it is provided. These are all non-mycorrhizal litter fungi.

Ecology of phylloplane and litter fungi of triticale

Quantitative as well as qualitative variations in fungal floras were observed at different stages of leaf and litter colonisation, and during different seasons. Total number of fungi increased with leaf age. Yeasts and yeast–like fungi were uncommon and filamentous forms predominated in the phylloplane. The common phylloplane fungi grew actively and sporulated on surfaces of green leaves. Distinct succession of fungi was observed both on the leaf surface and inside the leaf. Four groups of fungal colonisers were recognised, Dematiaceous hyphomycetes constituted the major part of the mycoflora.

Rodlets associated with the cell wall and crystals of litter fungi

Crystals of calcium oxalate have been found associated with a series of basidiomycete hyphae. while the morphology of these crystals is quite variable, two forms have been commonly found in association with gymnospermous litter. Graustein et al. using SEM found star-shaped (druse-like) crystal conglomerates associated with Hysterangium crassum which they believed to be the result of oxalate secretion followed by precipitation on the surface of the hyphae. Another example of fungi forming druselike crystal aggregates on their hyphae was found in a basidiomycete wood rotting fungus in which the development of the crystals appeared to arise from within the hyphae. Examination of the material by SEM showed a sheath covering the surface of crystals supporting the internal origin of the oxalate crystals. In the present case litter fungi were collected in a mixed pine and fir forest 15 miles south of Nederland, Gilpin County, Colorado (Arnott no. 264). The fungi were fixed in the field in gluteraldehyde, treated with 3% glycerol and freeze fractured. Other specimens were stored dry or critical-point dried for study by SEM. The nature of the crystals was determined by chemical solubility, birefringence and x-ray analysis. The fungi are basidiomycetes.

The Role of Mites and Nematodes in Early Stages of Buried Litter Decomposition in a Desert

We studied changes in populations of mites, nematodes, bacteria, and fungi in buried creosote bush litter treated with selected inhibitors. Elimination of microarthropods (primarily tydeid mites) resulted in increased numbers of bacteriophagic nematodes and reduction in numbers of bac- teria; elimination of both nematodes and microarthropods resulted in increased numbers of bacteria compared to untreated controls. Fungal grazing mites, Pyemotidae, and fungivorous nematodes, Aphelenchus sp., increased in numbers between days 25 and 30, reducing the fungi on untreated leaves but not on stems and petioles, while mean length of fungal hyphae increased in insecticide- treated leaves. Elimination of mites resulted in a 40% reduction in decomposition suggesting that in a desert, tydeid mites affect decomposition of buried litter by regulating the population size of the bacterial grazers, cephalobid nematodes. In our previous study (Santos and Whitford 1981), we found that tydeid mites were the initial arthropod colonizers of buried creosote bush litter and that or- ganic matter loss was significantly reduced in the ab- sence of these mites. We hypothesized that the tydeid mites were predators on free-living nematodes, and regulated decomposition by regulating the population size of microbial grazers (the nematodes).

Microfungi of a Danish Beech forest Microbiology of a Danish beech forest II

The fungal flora in different parts of a beech forest ecosystem was investigated through a four year period as part of an IBP project. Both colony counts and direct measurements of fungal mycelium indicated that a vast majority of the fungal biomass is concentrated in the upper horizons of the soil, especially in the mull layer. The litter also contained large amounts of fungi when calculated per g dry weight, but still the litter fungi accounted for only a quite small percentage of the total fungal biomass. The fungi growing in direct contact with the living plants, i.e. in the rhizosphere and phylloplane, also accounted for only a few per cent of the total amount of fungi in the ecosystem.On basis of direct measurements of fungal mycelium the total biomass was estimated to be about 100 g dry wt per m2. However, no attempts were made to distinguish between living and dead hyphae, and a large proportion of the observed hyphae may very well be dead or inactive.Qualitative studies revealed that the upper soil layers not only contained the largest amounts of fungal mycelium, but also by far the highest species diversity. Other parts of the ecosystem, e.g. the phylloplane, were often strongly dominated by one or a few species, whereas soil always contained a large variety of different types.

Litter decomposition and Ectomycorrhiza in Amazonian forests. 1. A comparison of litter decomposing and ectomycorrhizal Basidiomycetes in latosol-terra-firme rain forest and white podzol campinarana

Abstract Application of a mycosociological method (adaptation of the Lange method) in Central Amazonia produced the following results: In the white-sand podzol campinarana type of forests the dominant trees are obligatorily ectotrophically mycorrhizal; litter is accumulated as raw humus as a consequence of ectotroph dominance; fewer leaf inhabiting litter fungi occur in the dry as well as the wet seasons than are counted in the latosol terra-firme rain forest, and the fungi of that category are most strongly represented ("F-dominance") by other species here than in the terra-firme stands tested. The ectomycorrhizal trees and fungi are enumerated. On the other hand, in the terra-firme forest, ectotrophically mycorrhizal fungi did not occur in the test plots. The trees are almost all non-ectomycorrhizal in primary terra-firme forest; here, litter does not appreciably accumulate as a deep raw humus layer because the considerably higher number of leaf inhabiting litter fungi (ratios of 4:1 to 4.2:1 in favor cf terra-firme) and greater diversification (a larger number of species) is potentially capable of reducing more than the yearly leaf-fall. In this study, a group of fungi was mainly considered which is not represented in laboratory litter decomposition experiments. However, a comparison with unpublished and published data shows that our results satisfactorily match the experimental and phyto-sociological data obtained both with other classes of microorganisms and with observations in other regions. The quantity of litter decomposing fungi in the foliicolous group depends mainly on the amount of precipitation during the last few days before counting. This does not hold for all lignicolous fungi. The reasons for this as well as the mechanisms by which the ectomycorrhizas may reduce litter decomposition rates and influence the nutrient cycling patterns are discussed. The most important genera of Basidiomycetes involved in litter decomposition in the Lower Rio Negro forest associations are enumerated. Possible economic significance of introducing ectotrophs in the terra-firme forest is indicated.

Occurence of calcium oxalate in relation to the activity of fungi in forest litter and humus

Occurence of calcium oxalate in relation to the activity of fungi in forest litter and humus

Effects of collembolan grazing on fungal colonization of leaf litter

After a detailed field study of the leaf litter biota of an aspen poplar forest at the time of snow melt, and the confirmation of selective fungal feeding by field-collected specimens of Onychiurus subtenuis Folsom, an attempt was made to assess the effects of this selective feeding on the colonization of leaf litter by two common species of litter fungi. Simple microcosms held under controlled laboratory conditions were used in this study. The results showed that relatively low rates of selective grazing by the Collembola had potentially important effects on the competitive colonizing ability of the individual fungal species studied.

Effect of microbial culture filtrates on the growth of sal ( Shorea robusta gaertn.) leaf litter fungi

Experiments were made on the nature of fungal competition on sal leaf-litter with emphasis on the antibiotic action of culture filtrates. The culture filtrates of Mortierella subtilissima, Aspergillus candidus, A. flavus, A. niger, Penicillium rubrum, Papulaspora sp., Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis were found most effective in suppressing the growth of various leaf-litter fungi. Dominant fungi which displayed best competitive tolerance to the staling products of culture filtrates were Aspergillus flavus, A. niger, A. sclerotiorum, A. terreus and Trichoderma harzianum.

Fungi and Bacteria Associated with Leaves During Processing in a Woodland Stream

Autumn—shed leaves of white oak (Quercus alba) and pignut hickory (Carya glabra) were fastened together and incubated in a third order hardwater stream in south—western Michigan. At biweekly intervals, leaves were removed and the microbial populations assessed. Direct counts of bacteria increased logarithmically with time, but viable counts were generally lower. Flexibacter, Achromobacter, Flavobacteria, Pseudomonas, and Cytophaga were isolated from leaves. No apparent bacterial succession was detected. The mycoflora was assessed in five ways, including direct examination and incubations ranging from environment simulating to particle platings on nutrient medium. Although this last technique suggested that common soil and litter fungi dominated, direct examination and environment—simulating incubations showed that aquatic hyphomycetes, particularly Alatospora acuminata, Flagellospora curvula, and Tetracladium marchalianum were the dominant members of the mycoflora. The successional pattern of these fungi on both leaf species is discussed. It is concluded that the aquatic hyphomycetes are actively growing and completing their life cycle in this environment and that the terrestrial fungi are normally present mainly in a dormant state, growing and sporulating only in greatly enriched conditions. The highest ATP levels observed corresponded to the periods of highest fungal frequencies .

Pestalotia Distincta Refound in Japan

During a survey of the leaf litter fungi of Japanese evergreen oak forests, several collections of a coelomycete on the leaves of Castanopsis cuspidata Schottky caught my attention. Apparently, the is identical to Pestalotia Guba (Guba, 1961). This species was originally collected by Asano in 1922 in Fukuoka, Japan, on the leaves of C. cuspidata. A portion of the specimen was sent to Guba and was treated as a new species of Pestalotia in his monograph (Guba, 1961). The holotype specimen has been preserved in the Herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden and labelled Emil F. Guba, University of Massachusetts, Herbarium Monochaetiarum et Pestalotiarum, Pestalotia Guba, Type specimen, Coll. Asano, etc. The specific epithet distincta might have been given because of its inconspicuous apical cells and the rosettelike arrangement of short setulae near the apex of the conidia. Guba (1961) has mentioned in his book (p. 107) that the fungus is unusual in the absence of conspicuous hyaline apical However, the Latin diagnosis given by him and the original line drawing provided by him which accompanied the type specimen clearly indicate the presence of himispherical, hyaline, apical cells. This discrepancy could have resulted from the examination of the old, dry herbarium material kept for nearly half a century. This might have misled him to conclude that conspicuous apical cells were absent in this species. Fresh collections of P. on the leaves of C. cuspidata were made at Esuzaki, Wakayama, on 18 April, 1969, and later at Miyanoura, Yaku Is., Kagoshima, on 1 June, 1970. Conspicuous, conical, hyaline, apical cells are constantly on the conidia of the collections on C. cuspidata and on the conidia in the cultures made from the recent collections. Setulae, mostly five in number, are short and adorn the basal periphery of the apical cells and very rarely also are on the distal end of the apical cells. They are straight or less curved than those illustrated by Guba. The length of 5-celled conidia of the new collections is somewhat greater than that given by Guba, being 19-28 ,um, and that of the 3-intermediate cells is 15-19 Mm. A full description of P. refound in Japan is given as follows:

Changes in the microbial flora, chlorophenols and chloroanisoles in broiler house litter during a chicken rearing cycle

AbstractThe changes in the microbial flora, chlorophenol loss, and chloroanisole production have been studied in the litter from four broiler houses through a single rearing cycle. An increase in species of Scopulariopsis and Aspergillus over the first 4 to 5 weeks of the rearing cycle coincided with a decrease in the levels of 2, 4, 6‐tri‐, 2, 3, 4, 6‐tetra‐, and pentachlorophenols, a rise in pH and moisture content of the litter and a decline in the fungal species normally present in the fresh shavings. The maximum levels of chloroanisoles occurred at approximately the same stage of the rearing cycle as the highest viable count of the predominant litter fungi.

Nutrient Cycling Pathways and Litter Fungi

Journal Article Nutrient Cycling Pathways and Litter Fungi Get access N. Stark N. Stark Desert Research Institute, University of Nevada System, Reno, Nevada Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar BioScience, Volume 22, Issue 6, June 1972, Pages 355–360, https://doi.org/10.2307/1296341 Published: 01 June 1972