page_title: Plant litter
section_title: Detritivores and other decomposers
hierarchical_section_title: Plant litter / Habitat and food / Detritivores and other decomposers
caption_attribution_description: Dansk: Honningsvamp (Armillaria sp.), muligvis Armillaria borealis. English: Armillaria sp., probably Armillaria borealis.
context_page_description: Litterfall, plant litter, leaf litter, tree litter, soil litter, or duff, is dead plant material that have fallen to the ground. This detritus or dead organic material and its constituent nutrients are added to the top layer of soil, commonly known as the litter layer or O horizon. Litter is an important factor in ecosystem dynamics, as it is indicative of ecological productivity and may be useful in predicting regional nutrient cycling and soil fertility.
context_section_description: Many organisms that live on the forest floor are decomposers, such as fungi. Organisms whose diet consists of plant detritus, such as earthworms, are termed detritivores. The community of decomposers in the litter layer also includes bacteria, amoeba, nematodes, rotifer, tardigrades, springtails, cryptostigmata, potworms, insect larvae, mollusks, oribatid mites, woodlice, and millipedes. Even some species of microcrustaceans, especially copepods (for instance Bryocyclops spp., Graeteriella spp.,Olmeccyclops hondo, Moraria spp.,Bryocamptus spp.,Atheyella spp.) live in moist leaf litter habitats and play an important role as predators and decomposers.
  The consumption of the litterfall by decomposers results in the breakdown of simple carbon compounds into carbon dioxide (CO₂) and water (H₂O), and releases inorganic ions (like nitrogen and phosphorus) into the soil where the surrounding plants can then reabsorb the nutrients that were shed as litterfall. In this way, litterfall becomes an important part of the nutrient cycle that sustains forest environments.
  As litter decomposes, nutrients are released into the environment.  The portion of the litter that is not readily decomposable is known as humus. Litter aids in soil moisture retention by cooling the ground surface and holding moisture in decaying organic matter. The flora and fauna working to decompose soil litter also aid in soil respiration. A litter layer of decomposing biomass provides a continuous energy source for macro- and micro-organisms.
caption: Fungi in the forest floor (Marselisborg Forests in Denmark)
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