Fungal and bacterial interaction during the colonization of litter in soil
What decides how plant litter is decomposed, and by whom? Trees take up carbon in form of atmospheric CO2 from the air and use as building material as they grow. This carbon, locked in plant material, enters the soil carbon cycle via aboveground litter for example in the form of fallen foliage, dead trees, lost bark or via the plants root system as root litter or root exudates. Fungi and bacteria
