But it's a complex process, one that scientists are only beginning to understand. I began my own research project at the Pine Lake Preserve five years ago and have made some interesting discoveries about how forest litter decomposes. I found that the speed of decomposition varies from forest to forest. On the Pine Lake Preserve, it's slowest in the hemlock forest, fastest in the mixed hardwoods forest, and proceeds at an intermediate rate in the beech and red pine forests. I wanted to know, for instance, whether the hemlock litter would decompose faster in the mixed hardwood forest.
Forest litter is the basis for the elaborate detritus food web.
Bacteria and fungi seem to be least active in the hemlock forest where decomposition is slowest and the standing crop of litter deepest, and most active in the mixed hardwood forest where decomposition occurs more rapidly. One might expect the hardwood forest to be teeming with invertebrates since the bacteria and fungi, on which they feed, is so plentiful. Yet suprisingly, the invertebrates were more abundant in the hemlock forest. Perhaps they found the hemlock's deep litter layer more appetizing that the bacteria and fungi fare offered by the hardwoods. The decomposition process seems to be sensitive to acidic conditions.