On top of that, beneficial fungi can outcompete damaging fungi in the soil and make plants more disease-resistant. As decomposers, mushrooms are a valuable part of local ecosystems. But mushrooms ...

Dark, dramatic and dead set on decomposition, soil is alive. Heaving with microbes, worms, fungi and insects, it’s a hive of activity right beneath our feet. Find out the dirt on soil’s drama. In just ...

Banana slugs are decomposers and play an important role ... which fertilizes healthy soil. Banana slugs, like all gastropods, are hermaphrodites, which means they possess both male and female ...

Soil microbes include insects, fungi, bacteria, and earthworms, many of which act as decomposers to break down these plant and animal wastes into compounds usable by plants. The mineral component ...

These molecules pass through food chains and, when organisms die, decomposers break them down, returning carbon and nitrogen to the atmosphere and soil for reuse. A balanced carbon cycle is essential.

The research team from CAS looked at soil fungi and their complex plant relationships, ranging from co-dependency as symbionts, to pathogens or decomposers that support nutrient recycling.