Abstract
An integrative survey was conducted on the ability of litter-decomposing macrofungi (LDM) from forests of different climatic regions to decompose litter materials and recalcitrant compounds in the litter under pure culture conditions. A total of 75 isolates in six families of LDM from subtropical, cool temperate (CT), and subalpine (SA) forests in Japan were tested for their ability to decompose a total of eight litter types that are major substrates for macrofungi at each site. The mass loss of the litter (% original mass) during incubation for 12 weeks at 20 °C ranged from −3.1 % to 54.5 %. Macrofungi originated from forests of different climatic regions exhibited similar decomposing abilities, but the SA isolates caused negligible mass loss of Abies needles, possibly due to inhibitory compounds. Decomposing activity for recalcitrant compounds (as acid-unhydrolyzable residues, AUR) was found in many macrofungal isolates. The isolates of Marasmiaceae were generally more able to cause selective decomposition of AUR than those of Mycenaceae and to decompose AUR in partly decomposed materials. The isolates of Xylariaceae had lower ligninolytic activity than those of Basidiomycetes. The AUR mass loss caused by CT isolates was significantly lower in nitrogen-rich beech litter than in its nitrogen-poor counterpart, suggesting a retarding effect of nitrogen on AUR decomposition, which was obvious for Mycenaceae. The effect of fungal family was generally more significant than that of litter type, suggesting that possible changes in the composition of fungal assemblages influence their functioning more than changes in the quality of substrates.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adaskaveg JE, Gilbertson RL, Dunlap MR (1995) Effects of incubation time and temperature on in vitro selective delignification of silver leaf oak by Ganoderma colossum. Appl Environ Microbiol 61:138–144
Bağci E, Diğrak M (1996) Antimicrobial activity of essential oils of some Abies (Fir) species from Turkey. Flavour Fragr J 11:251–256
Berg B, Laskowski R (2006) Litter decomposition: a guide to carbon and nutrient turnover. Academic Press, Amsterdam
Boberg JB, Ihrmark K, Lindahl BD (2011) Decomposing capacity of fungi commonly detected in Pinussylvestris needle litter. Fungal Ecol 4:110–114
Fenn P, Choi S, Kirk TK (1981) Ligninolytic activity of Phanerochaete chrysosporium: physiology of suppression by NH4 + and L-glutamate. Arch Microbiol 130:66–71
Fukasawa Y, Osono T, Takeda H (2009) Effects of attack of saprobic fungi on twig litter decomposition by endophytic fungi. Ecol Res 24:1067–1073
Hagiwara Y, Osono T, Ohta S, Wicaksono A, Hardjono A (2012) Colonization and decomposition of leaf litter by ligninolytic fungi in Acacia mangium plantations and adjacent secondary forests. J For Res 17:51–57
Hirobe M, Sabang J, Bhatta BK, Takeda H (2004) Leaf-litter decomposition of 15 tree species in a lowland tropical rain forest in Sarawak: dynamics of carbon, nutrients, and organic constituents. J For Res 9:347–354
Imazeki R, Hongo T (1987) Colored illustration of mushrroms of Japan, vol I. Hoikusha, Tokyo (in Japanese)
King HGC, Heath GW (1967) The chemical analysis of small samples of leaf material and the relationship between the disappearance and composition of leaves. Pedobiologia 7:192–197
Koide K, Osono T, Takeda H (2005) Fungal succession and decomposition of Camellia japonica leaf litter. Ecol Res 20:599–609
Lindahl B, Boberg J (2008) Distribution and function of litter basidiomycetes in coniferous forests. In: Boddy L, Frankland JC, van West P (eds) Ecology of saprotrophic basidiomycetes. Academic Press, London, pp 183–196
Miura K, Kudo M (1970) An agar-medium for aquatic hyphomycetes. Trans Mycol Soc Japan 11:116–118 (in Japanese with English abstract)
Miyamoto T, Igarashi T, Takahashi K (2000) Lignin-degrading ability of litter-decomposing basidiomycetes from Picea forests of Hokkaido. Mycoscience 41:105–110
Nilsson T, Daniel G (1989) Chemistry and microscopy of wood decay by some higher ascomycetes. Holzforschung 43:11–18
Osono T (2006) Fungal decomposition of lignin in leaf litter: comparison between tropical and temperate forests. In: Meyer W, Pearce C (eds) Proceedings for the 8th International Mycological Congress, August 20–25, 2006. Cairns, Australia. Medimond, Italy, pp 111–117
Osono T (2007) Ecology of ligninolytic fungi associated with leaf litter decomposition. Ecol Res 22:955–974
Osono T (2011) Diversity and functioning of fungi associated with leaf litter decomposition in Asian forests of different climatic regions. Fungal Ecol 4:375–385
Osono T (2014a) Hyphal length in the forest floor and soil of subtropical, temperate, and subalpine forests. J For Res. doi:10.1007/s10310-014-0461-2
Osono T (2014b) Diversity, resource utilization, and phenology of fruiting bodies of litter-decomposing macrofungi in subtropical, temperate, and subalpine forests. J For Res. doi:10.1007/s10310-014-0459-9
Osono T (2014c) Effects of litter type, origin of isolate, and temperature on decomposition of leaf litter by macrofungi. J For Res. doi:10.1007/s10310-014-0462-1
Osono T, Hirose D (2009) Effects of prior decomposition of Camellia japonica leaf litter by an endophytic fungus on the subsequent decomposition by fungal colonizers. Mycoscience 50:52–55
Osono T, Hirose D (2011) Colonization and lignin decomposition of pine needle litter by Lophodermium pinastri. For Pathol 41:156–162
Osono T, Takeda H (2001) Effects of organic chemical quality and mineral nitrogen addition on lignin and holocellulose decomposition of beech leaf litter by Xylaria sp. Eur J Soil Biol 37:17–23
Osono T, Takeda H (2002) Comparison of litter decomposing ability among diverse fungi in a cool temperate deciduous forest in Japan. Mycologia 94:421–427
Osono T, Takeda H (2006) Fungal decomposition of Abies needle and Betula leaf litter. Mycologia 98:172–179
Osono T, Fukasawa Y, Takeda H (2003) Roles of diverse fungi in larch needle litter decomposition. Mycologia 95:820–826
Osono T, Hobara S, Koba K, Kameda K (2006) Reduction of fungal growth and lignin decomposition in needle litter by avian excreta. Soil Biol Biochem 38:1623–1630
Osono T, Ishii Y, Hirose D (2008) Fungal colonization and decomposition of Castanopsis sieboldii leaves in a subtropical forest. Ecol Res 23:909–917
Osono T, Ishii Y, Takeda H, Seramethakun T, Khamyong S, To-Anun C, Hirose D, Tokumasu S, Kakishima M (2009) Fungal succession and lignin decomposition on Shorea obtusa leaves in a tropical seasonal forest in northern Thailand. Fungal Div 36:101–119
Osono T, Hobara S, Hishinuma T, Azuma JI (2011a) Selective lignin decomposition and nitrogen mineralization in forest litter colonized by Clitocybe sp. Eur J Soil Biol 47:114–121
Osono T, To-Anun C, Hagiwara Y, Hirose D (2011b) Decomposition of wood, petiole and leaf litter by Xylaria species from northern Thailand. Fun Ecol 4:210–218
Osono T, Hagiwara Y, Masuya H (2011c) Effects of temperature and litter type on fungal growth and decomposition of leaf litter. Mycoscience 52:327–332
Preston CM, Trofymow JA, Sayer BG, Niu J (1997) 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy with cross-polarization and magic-angle spinning investigation of the proximate-analysis fractions used to assess litter quality in decomposition studies. Can J Bot 75:1601–1613
Reid I (1991) Nutritional regulation of synthetic lignin (DHP) degradation by Phlebia (Merulius) tremellosa: effect of nitrogen. Can J Bot 69:156–160
Sinsabaugh RL, Gallo ME, Lauber C, Waldrop MP, Zak DR (2005) Extracellular enzyme activities and soil organic matter dynamics for northern hardwood forests receiving simulated nitrogen deposition. Biogeochemistry 75:201–215
Steffen KT, Cajthaml T, Šnajdr J, Baldrian P (2007) Differential degradation of oak (Quercuspetraea) leaf litter by litter-decomposing basidiomycetes. Res Microbiol 158:447–455
Tateno R, Takeda H (2010) Nitrogen uptake and nitrogen use efficiency above and below ground along a topographic gradient of soil nitrogen availability. Oecologia 163:793–804
Valášková V, Šnajdr J, Bittner B, Cajthaml T, Merhautová V, Hofrichter M, Baldrian P (2007) Production of lignocellulose-degrading enzymes and degradation of leaf litter by saprotrophic basidiomycetes isolated from a Quercus petraea forest. Soil Biol Biochem 39:2651–2660
Van der Wal A, Geydan TD, Kuyper TW, de Boer W (2013) A thready affair: linking fungal diversity and community dynamics to terrestrial decomposition processes. FEMS Microbiol Rev 37:477–494
Žifčáková L, Dobiášová P, Kolářová Z, Koukol O, Baldrian P (2011) Enzyme activities of fungi associated with Piceaabies needles. Fungal Ecol 4:427–436
Acknowledgments
I thank Ms. K. Koide for help with pure culture tests and Dr. Elizabeth Nakajima for critical reading of the manuscript. This study received partial financial support from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology of Japan (MEXT) (No. 19780114), National Institute of Agrobiologial Sciences (NIAS) Japan, The Sumitomo Foundation, Nissan Global Foundation, Nippon Life Inst. Foundation, and the Grants for Excellent Graduate Schools, MEXT, Japan (12-01) to Kyoto University.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
About this article
Cite this article
Osono, T. Decomposing ability of diverse litter-decomposer macrofungi in subtropical, temperate, and subalpine forests. J For Res 20, 272–280 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10310-014-0475-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10310-014-0475-9