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Leifheit, E.F.* ; Camenzind, T.* ; Lehmann, A.* ; Andrade Linares, D.R. ; Fussan, M.* ; Westhusen, S.* ; Wineberger, T.M.* ; Rillig, M.C.*

Fungal traits help to understand the decomposition of simple and complex plant litter.

FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 100:fiae033 (2024)
DOI PMC
Creative Commons Lizenzvertrag
Open Access Green as soon as Postprint is submitted to ZB.
Litter decomposition is a key ecosystem process, relevant for the release and storage of nutrients and carbon in soil. Soil fungi are one of the dominant drivers of organic matter decomposition, but fungal taxa differ substantially in their functional ability to decompose plant litter. Knowledge is mostly based on observational data and subsequent molecular analyses and in vitro studies have been limited to forest ecosystems. In order to better understand functional traits of saprotrophic soil fungi in grassland ecosystems, we isolated 31 fungi from a natural grassland and performed several in vitro studies testing for i) leaf and wood litter decomposition, ii) the ability to use carbon sources of differing complexity, iii) the enzyme repertoire. Decomposition strongly varied among phyla and isolates, with Ascomycota decomposing the most and Mucoromycota decomposing the least. The phylogeny of the fungi and their ability to use complex carbon were the most important predictors for decomposition. Our findings show that it is crucial to understand the role of individual members and functional groups within the microbial community. This is an important way forward to understand the role of microbial community composition for the prediction of litter decomposition and subsequent potential carbon storage in grassland soils.
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Publication type Article: Journal article
Document type Scientific Article
Corresponding Author
Keywords litter decomposition; saprotrophic fungi; grassland; fungal traits; fungal phylogeny; carbon use; Wood Decomposition; Carbon-sources; Forest; Chemistry; Dynamics
ISSN (print) / ISBN 0168-6496
e-ISSN 1574-6941
Journal FEMS Microbiology Ecology
Quellenangaben Volume: 100, Issue: 5, Pages: , Article Number: fiae033 Supplement: ,
Publisher Wiley
Publishing Place Oxford
Non-patent literature Publications
Reviewing status Peer reviewed
Institute(s) Research Unit Comparative Microbiome Analysis (COMI)
Grants Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft