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The primary decomposer of litter in many ecosystems is fungi. [11] [12] Unlike bacteria, which are unicellular organisms and are decomposers as well, most saprotrophic fungi grow as a branching network of hyphae. Bacteria are restricted to growing and feeding on the exposed surfaces of organic matter, but fungi can use their hyphae to penetrate ...
A basic guide for the effect of environment on decomposition is given as Casper's Law (or Ratio): if all other factors are equal, then, when there is free access of air a body decomposes twice as fast as if immersed in water and eight times faster than if buried in the earth. Ultimately, the rate of bacterial decomposition acting on the tissue ...
In biology, detritus (/ d ɪ ˈ t r aɪ t ə s / or / d ɛ ˈ t r ɪ t ə s /) is organic matter made up of the decomposing remains of organisms and plants, and also of feces. Detritus usually hosts communities of microorganisms that colonize and decompose (remineralise) it. Such microorganisms may be decomposers, detritivores, or coprophages.
Forests have an enormously important role to play in the global ecosystem. Forests produce approximately 28% of the Earth's oxygen (the vast majority being created by oceanic plankton), [3] they also serve as homes for millions of people, and billions depend on forests in some way. Likewise, a large proportion of the world's animal species live ...
Plant litter, which can be made up of fallen leaves, twigs, seeds, flowers, and other woody debris, makes up a large portion of above ground net primary production of all terrestrial ecosystems. Fungus plays a large role in cycling the nutrients from the plant litter back into the ecosystem.
An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by organisms in interaction with their environment. [2]: 458 The biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Ecosystems are controlled by external and internal factors.
Ecosystems are dynamically interacting systems of organisms, the communities they make up, and the non-living components of their environment. Ecosystem processes, such as primary production , nutrient cycling , and niche construction , regulate the flux of energy and matter through an environment.
[6] [18] Most of the primary production in an ecosystem is not consumed, but is recycled by detritus back into useful nutrients. [54] Many of the Earth's microorganisms are involved in the formation of minerals in a process called biomineralization. [55] [56] [57] Bacteria that live in detrital sediments create and cycle nutrients and ...