Total fungi
Total Fungi (mg PLFA per kg) is the sum of all PLFAs that make up the membrane of the Fungi which are present in the sample. Fungi cause the degradation of complex forms of organic material, form stable aggregates, and excrete organic acids, which improve the availability of some nutrients and increase disease resistance through competition or predation. A higher abundance of fungi is present when there are more recalcitrant materials with a high C/N ratio, such as straw and compost.