Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
In the subsoil, the patterns of community structure are not known. Outside the rhizo-
sphere, soil organic matter is highly dispersed in the soil matrix and bacteria, the most
important micro-organisms, have a higher potential metabolism but, on average, depend
more on specific environmental conditions. Their strategies are thus likely to be more of
the 'window' category and the process of assemblage of their species in communities
more stochastic than observed in fungal communities of the surface litter.
Successions on decomposing substrates
Decomposition processes generally start while the plant material is still alive. In the
early stages, the yeasts and phyllosphere bacteria present on the surfaces of leaves and
fungi may attack both leaves and roots, especially when they have been damaged by
frost or insect attack. After death of the plant organs, the cytoplasm is rapidly trans-
formed with tannin-protein compounds being important components of the decompos-
ing material (see Chapter IV.1.3.3).
