Rich decay

In the depths of winter, a wood may look bare and still. But the woodland floor is a hive of almost invisible activity, as the carpet of fallen leaves begins to decay. Spreading through it are white, thread-like strands of fungi called hyphae. The main body of a fungus, hyphae draw nourishment from the leaves as they break them down. Growing and spreading, the hyphae form a mat known as mycelium. It is only at this stage that the hyphae become visible to the naked eye when the leaf litter is disturbed. Invertebrates such as slugs, snails and eventually earthworms also play a part in the breakdown of the leaves, as do bacteria. As the dead plant matter is broken down by all this activity, nutrients are returned to the soil to be reused in the lush regrowth of spring.