Fungi as decomposers
Cleaning up and returning minerals to the soil.
Leaves on the ground
Leaves fall and dead twigs lie on the forest floor. Fungi grow on them.
What happens to this dead matter because of fungi?
What this lesson covers
The idea
Most fungi are saprophytes, decomposers that feed on dead organic matter and break it into simpler substances, returning minerals to the soil; some fungi are mutualistic (symbiotic) partners and others disease-causing parasites.
Leaves on the ground
Leaves fall and dead twigs lie on the forest floor. Fungi grow on them.
What happens to this dead matter because of fungi?
- It is broken down into simpler substances and returned to the soil
- It stays the same for ever
- It is turned into new living leaves directly
The leaf is recycled
Press Next step.
Fungi have other roles too
Most fungi are decomposers. Some fungi live in a mutualistic partnership with other organisms, and others are parasites that cause disease in plants and animals. Without decomposers, dead matter would not be recycled.
Most fungi are saprophytes, decomposers that feed on dead organic matter and break it into simpler substances, returning minerals to the soil; some fungi are mutualistic (symbiotic) partners and others disease-causing parasites.
Notes
Most fungi are saprophytes, decomposers that break dead matter into simpler substances and return minerals to the soil; some are mutualistic and some are parasites.
Check yourself
What is a saprophyte?
What do decomposing fungi make readily available in the soil?
Fungi that cause diseases in plants and animals are ...
What do decomposer fungi do to complex organic matter?
- An organism that makes food using sunlight. That describes an autotroph. Most fungi are saprophytes and do not make their own food.
- An organism that lives on a live host and causes disease. That describes a parasite.
- An organism that feeds on dead organic matter — correct. Yes!
- Minerals — correct. Yes!
- Chitin. Chitin is what fungal cell walls are made of.
- Cellulose. Cellulose is what plant cell walls are made of.
- saprophytes. Saprophytes feed on dead organic matter.
- parasites — correct. Yes!
- mutualistic partners. Mutualistic partners live in a relationship with other organisms. They do not cause disease.
- They join it into more complex matter. The book says decomposers break complex organic matter into simpler substances.
- They keep it as it is. Decomposers break it down, which makes minerals available in the soil.
- They break it into simpler substances — correct. Yes!