Wood-decay fungi can be classified according to the type of decay that they cause. The best-known types are brown rot, soft rot, and white rot. Each produce different enzymes, can degrade different plant materials, and can colonise different environmental niches. Brown rot and soft rot both digest a tree's cellulose and hemicellulose but not its lignin; white rot digests lignin as well. The residual products of decomposition from fungal action have variable pH, solubility and redox potentials. Over time this residue becomes incorporated in the soil and sediment so can have a noticeable effect on the environment of that area.
Extract the best known types of wood-decay fungi described in this paragraph and list them in a bulleted list.
The best known types of wood-decay fungi are:
- Brown rot
- Soft rot
- White rot