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The remains of decaying plants or animals, or their tissue parts, and feces gradually lose their form due to physical processes and the action of decomposers, including grazers, bacteria, and fungi. [1] Decomposition, the process by which organic matter is decomposed, occurs in several phases.
Plant litter (also leaf litter, tree litter, soil litter, litterfall or duff) is dead plant material (such as leaves, bark, needles, twigs, and cladodes) that have fallen to the ground. This detritus or dead organic material and its constituent nutrients are added to the top layer of soil, commonly known as the litter layer or O horizon ("O ...
Decomposition of plant matter occurs in many stages. It begins with leaching by water; the most easily lost and soluble carbon compounds are liberated in this process. [50] Another early process is physical breakup or fragmentation of the plant material into smaller pieces, providing greater surface area for colonization and attack by decomposers.
Aspergillus parasiticus is a fungus belonging to the genus Aspergillus. [1] This species is an unspecialized saprophytic mold, mostly found outdoors in areas of rich soil with decaying plant material as well as in dry grain storage facilities. [2]
The primary materials needed for the process of humification are plant detritus and dead animals and microbes, excreta of all soil-dwelling organisms, and also black carbon resulting from past fires. [12] The composition of humus varies with that of primary (plant) materials and secondary microbial and animal products.
Soil mesofauna feed on a wide range of materials including other soil animals, microorganisms, animal material, live or decaying plant material, fungi, algae, lichen, spores, and pollen. [4] Species that feed on decaying plant material open drainage and aeration channels in the soil by removing roots.
Decomposition microbiology can be divided into two fields of interest, namely the decomposition of plant materials and the decomposition of cadavers and carcasses. The decomposition of plant materials is commonly studied in order to understand the cycling of carbon within a given environment and to understand the subsequent impacts on soil ...
The Pleosporales is the largest order in the fungal class Dothideomycetes.By a 2008 estimate, it contained 23 families, 332 genera and more than 4700 species. [3] The majority of species are saprobes on decaying plant material in fresh water, [4] marine, [5] or terrestrial environments, but several species are also associated with living plants as parasites, epiphytes or endophytes. [1]