A Review on Litter Decomposition by Soil Fungal Community

Fungi play an important role in plant litter decomposition in forest ecosystems through nutrient recycling and humus formation in soil because they attack the lingo-cellulose matrix in litter that other organisms are unable to assimilate.Fungi are considered to be the key players in litter decomposition because of their ability to produce a wide range of extracellular enzymes, which allows them to efficiently attack the recalcitrant ligno-cellulose matrix that other organisms are unable to decompose.Biochemical decomposition of leaf litter is a sequential process that initially involves the loss of the less recalcitrant components followed by the degradation of the remaining highly recalcitrant compounds.Litter quality changes during the course of its transformation and so does the activity of litter-associated microorganisms especially fungi.These changes are accompanied by a succession of microbial litter decomposers that reflect the varied catabolic capabilities that are sequentially required to complete the process of litter decomposition.The review reveals that fungi are divided into three functional groups according to their substrate utilization patterns during litter decomposition: lingo-cellulose decomposers that attack both lignin and cellulose in various proportions, cellulose decomposers that preferentially attack carbohydrates and sugar fungi that rely on soluble sugar for growth.Plant organic matter transformation leads to the disappearance of easily utilizable compounds and to the formation of recalcitrant ones.As a consequence, the chemical and spatial heterogeneity of the substrate changes with time.This process results in the formation of novel niches and a potential increase in fungal diversity.