carbon transfer from deadwood to litter by fungi

This study examines the fungal-mediated transfer of 13C-cellulose from deadwood of European beech and Norway spruce to Norway spruce litter from an Oi/Oe horizon. We used a mesocosm double-chamber system, including beech and spruce deadwoods (chamber I) and spruce litter (chamber II). After fungal hyphae growth in the intersection between the two chambers, mesocosms were incubated for 8-10 weeks at 20°C in the dark. Following a pre-treatment phase, 13C-cellulose was added to half of the deadwood chambers while the other half served as control without cellulose addition. The transfer of 13C-cellulose from deadwood to spruce litter was assessed by measuring the abundance of 13C in respiration and microbial biomass within the spruce litter.