Contribution in an anthology

Appeared in: Carbon and Nitrogen Cycling in European Forest Ecosystems

Editor list: Schulze, ED

Publication year: 2000

Pages: 366-381

ISBN: 978-3-540-67239-5

eISBN: 978-3-642-57219-7

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-57219-7_17

Title of series: Ecological Studies

Number in series: 142

Abstract: 

Only a small part of primary production is consumed by phytophagous organisms (Ellenberg et al. 1986).
It is generally agreed that the food web based on detritus is more
important for the flow of energy and nutrients through terrestrial
ecosystems than the food web based directly on autotrophic production (Swift et al. 1979).
The decomposer community that is responsible for this flow is composed
of microorganisms and invertebrates. The major components of the
decomposer microorganisms are bacteria and fungi. The dominant
decomposer fauna groups belong to the Protozoa, Nematoda, Oligochaeta
and Arthropoda Fig. 17. There is evidence that the effects of soil
organisms on ecosystem functioning critically depend on both the
structural diversity of the decomposer community and environmental
conditions (Freckman 1994; Hall 1996).
However, little information is available concerning the impact of soil
biodiversity on the integrity, function and sustain ability of
terrestrial ecosystems (Wolters 1998a).

Harvard Citation style: Wolters, V., Pflug, A., Taylor, A. and Schroeter, D. (2000) Diversity and Role of the Decomposer Food Web, in Schulze, E. (ed.) Carbon and Nitrogen Cycling in European Forest Ecosystems. Berlin: Springer-Verlag, pp. 366-381. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-57219-7_17

APA Citation style: Wolters, V., Pflug, A., Taylor, A., & Schroeter, D. (2000). Diversity and Role of the Decomposer Food Web. In Schulze, E. (Ed.), Carbon and Nitrogen Cycling in European Forest Ecosystems (pp. 366-381). Springer-Verlag. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-57219-7_17