Fungal colonization of litter has been described mostly in terms of fructification succession
in the decomposition process or the process of fungal ligninolysis. No studies have been
conducted on litter colonization by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and their
relationship with the presence of saprotrophic fungi. The aim of the present study was
to evaluate the relationships that exist in simultaneous leaf litter colonization by AMF
and saprotrophic fungi and the relationships between rates of litter and associated root
colonization by AMF at different soil depths. We selected Eugenia sp. and Syzygium sp. in
a riparian tropical forest, with an abundant production of litter (O horizon), we evaluated
litter and root colonization at different depths, its C:N ratios, and the edaphic
physico-chemical parameters of the A horizon immediately below the litter layer. Litter
colonization by saprotrophic fungi and AMF increased with depth, but the saprotrophic
fungal colonization of some litter fragments decreased in the lowermost level of the litter
while AMF litter colonization continued to increase. Plant roots were present only in the
middle and bottom layers, but their mycorrhizal colonization did not correlate with litter
colonization. The external hyphae length of AMF is abundant (ca. 20 m g1 sample) and,
in common with sample humidity, remained constant with increasing depth. We conclude
that in zones of riparian tropical forest with abundant sufficient litter accumulation and
abundant AMF external hyphae, the increase in litter colonization by AMF with depth
correlates to the colonization by saprotrophic fungi, but their presence in the deepest
layers is independent of both litter colonization by saprotrophic fungi and root colonization
by AMF

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