Download "Scrunch," "scrunch" went the crunch of dry leaves under my feet

"Scrunch," "scrunch" went the crunch of dry leaves under my feet. The brown, dead
leaves have been a delight for many that love to walk through leaf litter while kicking up
fall leaves. For others, the leaves are perhaps part of a fall routine as people rake them
from their lawns. For nature, decomposition is the natural process for leaves as they fall
to the ground, creating new building blocks of life recycled over again. Right now in the
forest this recycling is a job filled by invertebrates, fungi and bacteria.
Decomposition of leaves occurs through many different means. Invertebrates
and earthworms break leaves into smaller fragments. This process allows the
leaf pieces to have more surface area to support the next step of decomposition,
bacteria and fungi. Rain also filters through the leaves, dissolving chemicals and
nutrients. Bacteria grow better when the leaf fragments are smaller. The organic
matter is broken down to carbon, nitrogen and other minerals.
Certain species of fungi also aide with the decomposition of leaves. Fungi
hyphae fibers spread through dead leaf litter just under the forest floor, extracting
nutrients the fungi need to survive. These hyphae develop into matted carpets
that we sometimes see when leaf litter is moved. The speed at which
decomposition occurs depends on moisture, temperature and composition of the
leaf matter. Lower temperatures make decomposition occur more slowly. Leaves
with low nitrogen also slow decay because the fungi cannot gain enough nitrogen
from the organic matter to make necessary proteins. Lower oxygen environments
also slow decomposition.
Waste not, want not is the perfect description of our leaf decomposers. Without
them, nitrogen and other nutrients would be locked in the dead leaves, not
leaving enough for living plants and their needs in making new leaves and seeds.
Those bacteria and mushrooms are such "fun-guys!"