FUNGI AND BACTERIA

Many people probably think that rainforest soil is extremely rich, for it is able to support wide varieties of plants and tree species. That is a misconception, because majorities of rainforest soil are very poor in nutrients and is unsuitable for normal agriculture. Where then do these trees get their nutrients? In an undisturbed forest, the top layer of the forest soil is rich with nutrients that come from rotting organic materials. Since the tropical rainforest is evergreen, there is always a supply of rotting dead leaves covering the forest floor. All the tree species in the rainforest have shallow roots, which is aimed to absorb back the nutrients at the topsoil immediately before it reached the deeper parts of the soil.

Thus the nutrient cycle is a very important cycle and it forms the very base of all food webs. Dead leaves, trees and feces that is on the forest floor needs to be broken down and their nutrients returned to the soil, and the cycle repeats, with the plants taking back these nutrients. Main decomposing agents are the fungi and bacteria. Found anywhere in moist damp areas, these group of species break down dead matter into useful nutrient.

Fungi are actually made up of a network of fibres called hyphae, and that structure we usually see that sometimes look like umbrellas are their reproductive organs. These "umbrellas" come in great varieties of colours and shapes. They have no chlorophyll and so they must obtain their food from living or dead plants and animals. There are basically two types of fungi, the parasitic and the saprophytic. Parasitic fungi attack living plants and animals and they cause diseases. The decomposers which we are familiar to, falls under the saprophytic fungi, they live off dead plants and animal material.

Bird nest fungi

The bird nest fungi is definitely one of those weird ones. It is shaped like little urns and when young has a protective lid covering it. When the fungi has mature, the lid is shed and round, hard sacs that looks like bird eggs are exposed. Each of these small white sacs contained millions of spores and when a raindrop falls into the cup, one or more of these sacs are popped out and they travel several feet from their ‘nest’. As these sacs float in the air, they leave behind a trail of sticky thread. When the tread make contact with a leaf or some other parts of a plant, it clings on and these sacs will be left suspended. The aim of this is so that when an animal walks pass and starts eating the leaves of the plant, it may accidentally consume the sac. The sac, which is unharmed through the digestive tract, will then be passed through and deposited elsewhere.

Bracket fungi

The bracket fungus is probably the most familiar and commonly seen fungi. They are usually semi circular in shape and can be found protruding from dead wood or tree stumps. They are very large fungi and can even grow up to 1 metes in width! They help to decompose the wood they sit from. Unlike other mushrooms, bracket fungus have pores on their underside instead of gills.

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