Litter quality control of decomposition of leaves, twigs, and sapwood by the white-rot fungus Trametes versicolor

抄録

Litter quality plays predominant roles in plant litter decomposition by modifying the activity of decomposer fungi. The variability in the decomposing ability of a single fungal strain (Trametes versicolor IFO30340) was quantified under pure culture conditions to elucidate litter quality measures that control the decomposition. We used a total of 72 litters from 51 plant species. Mass loss of litter caused by the fungus ranged from 0.9 to 59.8% of the original litter mass, was significantly higher in leaves, twigs, and petioles than in heartwood, and was significantly higher in broad-leaved than in coniferous litter. Tissue type (leaf, sapwood, or twig) and the relative amount of acid-unhydrolyzable residues to total nitrogen were selected as predictor variables of the mass loss of litters. Fourier tranform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy showed that guaiacyl units of lignin negatively affected the fungal decomposition.