Litter fungi
Tropical forests produce a large amount of litter yearly (in Thailand ranging from 4 to 11 tons/hectare/year, depending on forest types), which is a favored source of fungal colonization. Generally, litter composition are divided into leaf litter (60-70%), branch litter (12-15%), bark litter (1-14%), and fruit (also seed) litter (1-17%). Previous studies on fruit and leaf litter fungi revealed their high diversity with more than 200 known species collected, and 14 new species described. The result has shown the similarity of fungal species on the two litter types. However, the higher proportion of leaf litter than fruit litter on the forest floors supported the higher chance in encountering of the new species (12 new species from leaves while 2 new species from fruits). Further studies will focus on population dynamic during different stages of the decay, and fungi colonizing branch and bark litter. The overall studies may help us better understand the role of fungi in the decomposition process of tropical litter.