The major role assigned to soil microorganisms is that of decomposition of the litter that collects on or under the soil surface. Additional roles are: synthesis of growth factors such as vitamins and auxins, fixing of atmospheric nitrogen (restricted to bacteria and blue-green algae), production of soil-aggregating substances, and several others. The relative importance of fungi and bacteria (...

Recent studies have highlighted that dead fungal mycelium represents an important fraction of soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) inputs stocks. Consequently, identifying the microbial communities ecological factors govern decomposition necromass will provide critical insight into how organic matter (OM) affects forest C nutrient cycles. Here, we examined colonising during a multiyear experiment i...

We examined community diversity, structure and carbon footprint of nematode food web along a chronosequence of T. Sinensis reforestation on degraded Karst. In general, after the reforestation: a serious of diversity parameters and community indices (Shannon-Weinier index (H'), structure index (SI), etc.) were elevated; biomass ratio of fungivores to bacterivores (FFC/BFC), and fungi to bacteria...

Fungal community composition often shifts in response to warmer temperatures, which might influence decomposition of recalcitrant carbon (C). We hypothesized that evolutionary trade-offs would enable recalcitrant C-using taxa to respond more positively to warming than would labile C-using taxa. Accordingly, we performed a warming experiment in an Alaskan boreal forest and examined changes in th...

In terrestrial ecosystems, fungi are the major agents of decomposition processes and nutrient cycling and of plant nutrient uptake. Hence, they have a vital impact on ecosystem processes and the terrestrial carbon cycle. Changes in productivity and phenology of fungal fruit bodies can give clues to changes in fungal activity, but understanding these changes in relation to a changing climate is ...

Although carbon nanomaterials such as single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) are becoming increasingly prevalent in manufacturing, there is little knowledge on the environmental fate of these materials. Environmental degradation of SWCNT is hindered by their highly condensed aromatic structure as well as the size and aspect ratio, which prevents intracellular degradation and limits microbial de...

Assembly history, or the order of species arrival, can have wide-ranging effects on species, communities and ecosystems. However, it remains unclear whether assembly history primarily affects individual species, with effects attenuating at the level of communities and ecosystems or, alternatively, has consistent effect sizes across increasing levels of ecological organisation. We address this q...

Decomposition of wood is an important component of global carbon cycling. Most wood decomposition models are based on tree characteristics and environmental conditions; however, they do not include community dynamics of fungi that are the major wood decomposers. We examined the factors explaining variation in sapwood decay in oak tree stumps two and five years after cutting. Wood moisture conte...

Aflatoxigenic aspergilli inflict major economic damage to the tree nut industry of California, with the highest negative impact to almonds. Aspergilli and fungi in general are known to emit volatiles in varying quantity and composition dependent upon their growth media. The goal of the study was to determine the volatile emission of whole and blanched almonds that had been picked out and labele...