Texas Parks & Wildlife, Volume 46, Number 11, November 1988 Page: 30
48 p. : col. ill.View a full description of this periodical.
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his is when fungi play a vital role. While feeding upon
dead plant material, fungi break these compounds
down into simple chemical substances. As these substances
spread through the soil by rainfall, living plants take them
uP through their roots to help develop new stems, roots,
leaves and flowers once again. This remarkable movement
of chemicals is a circular one and, without fungi, the avail-
able reserves of phosphorus, potassium and nitrogen in the
soil would be seriously diminished.
So the next time you find yourself hiking through the
steamy forests of East Texas or the arid mountains of the
west, and you see decaying wood or fallen leaves, remem-
ber that a process is ongoing that you cannot see. Hidden
within the wood or under the leaves are many different
fungi and they are working to break down chemical sub-
stances so that other plants may live. Mysterious and often
beautiful, they are diminutive, yet powerful and vital to our
world's ecosystem.T he two photos abov e illustrate the dilf
ferent shapes( and sizes of gilled dl/iJgi. At
left are bracket or shelf fimigi onl a dead
log.30
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Texas. Parks and Wildlife Department. Texas Parks & Wildlife, Volume 46, Number 11, November 1988, periodical, November 1988; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1568693/m1/31/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.