Abstract
Fungi are ubiquitous in aquatic ecosystems. They are important decomposers of plant litter in marshes and streams, and act as important intermediaries of carbon flow to higher trophic levels. Representatives of all major fungal phyla have been reported from aquatic habitats, although ascomycetes and their anamorphs (mostly hyphomycetes) dominate fungal communities in plant litter. Aquatic fungi possess the enzymatic capabilities to degrade the major plant constituents, with the possible exception of lignin. Fungi typically surpass bacteria in terms of both biomass and production associated with standing dead plant shoots in marshes and submerged leaf litter in streams. Peak fungal biomass in these systems usually constitutes 5–10% of the litter mass but can be as high as 15–23%. At the ecosystem scale, fungal production may exceed 100 g C m–2 year–1 in some habitats. The interplay of internal (e.g. litter carbon quality and nutrient concentration) and external factors (e.g. temperature, dissolved nutrients) regulates fungal activity which, in turn, controls rates of litter decomposition. To what extent fungi assume similar importance in aquatic habitats other than marshes and streams is poorly documented.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2007 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
(2007). Fungal Decomposers of Plant Litter in Aquatic Ecosystems. In: Kubicek, C., Druzhinina, I. (eds) Environmental and Microbial Relationships. The Mycota, vol 4. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-71840-6_17
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-71840-6_17
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-71839-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-71840-6
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)