Various aspects of ammonia fungi

Abstract

Ammonia fungi are a chemoecological group of fungi, which sequentially occur after a sudden addition of ammonium-nitrogen that reacts as a base, or of alkalis. Sequential occurrence (= succession) of ammonia fungi proceeds anamorphic fungi, fungi in Ascomycota (mostly Discomycetes), fungi having smaller fruit bodies in Basidiomycota (all fungi belonging to these successional stages are saprobic species), and fungi having larger fruit bodies in Basidiomycota (mostly ectomycorrhizal species in Agaricales). They colonize into ammonium-nitrogendisturbed sites as pioneer fungal species instead of those pre-inhabitants (non-ammonia fungi). The saprobic ammonia fungi well adapt or tolerate to high concentration of ammonium-nitrogen under neutral and weak alkaline conditions. Most of saprobic ammonia fungi effectively decompose cellulose and hemicellulose, but do not remarkably decompose lignin. This replacement described may be viewed as a kind of "compensation process" in nutrient cycle in terrestrial ecosystems.