Help: Fungi As Decomposers?
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fungus\nhttp://tolweb.org/tree?group=Fungi&contgroup=Eukaryotes\nhttp://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/fungi/fungi.html\nhttp://www.factmonster.com/ce6/sci/A0858309.html\n\nhere are some to help you with research.
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In general, molds (more properly fungi) and bacteria are decomposing organisms - they cause things to rot, to decay, to decompose. If we didn't have them around, we'd all be knee deep in dead things. \n\nTheir life-style may be similar but their biology is very different - they belong to two separate kingdoms of life. Bacteria are single-celled prokaryotes that reproduce by fission, fungi are multi-cellular eukaryotes that reproduce with spores.
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Fungi is the plural of Fungus.
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It is not E because fungi are not photosynthetic, therefore I would say 'B' is false.  I would say 'C' as it is typically taught that bacteria symbiotically fix nitrogen for plants not fungi.  The fungi that live in symbiosis with plant roots (ie mycorrhizas) typically help the plant absorb nutrients from the soil.
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First you have to find them.  They are very easy to\nfind in some places and difficult in others.  They\nare often found in clumps of moss, liverwort or\nlichen.  I have succeeded in culturing them in\nshallow glass dishes in aquatic fungus cultures.\nPut some water from a natural habitat in the dish\nwith some pieces of dead leaf or twig, and a couple of sesame seeds.  Aquatic fungi will grow\non the sesame seed and provide food for other\norganisms in the culture.  One such culture I made\nfrom leaf litter in Arizona mountains produced\nhundreds of tardigrades.  Add the tardigrades to\nthe culture after the fungus begins to grow.
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This is a wild ass guess, but maybe where it's too cold for dying plants to decompose.  Instead of mature soil, you get peat.
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Mildew is "mold like" and caused by two specific organisms. Mold grows on organic matter, mildew can be on almsot anything with moisture.\n\nMildew\nMildew can thrive on any organic matter, not just living tissue, and can appear on clothing, leather, paper, and the ceilings, walls and floors of many homes. It often lives on shower walls.\n\nMildew is a grey, mold-like growth caused by one of two different types of micro-organisms.\n \nThe ladybird is a Psyllobora species which feeds on the mildew.What most horticulturalists and gardeners call mildew is actually powdery mildew, caused by various Ascomycota fungi. There are several species, all pests of flowering plants, which are obligate parasites. The species that affects roses is Sphaerotheca pannosa var. rosa.\n\nThe other main form of mildew is downy mildew, which is a member of the Oomycota phylum in the Protista kingdom. In commercial agriculture, downy mildew is a particular problem for growers of potatoes, grapes and vine-type vegetables.\n\n\nMold\n\nSlime molds and water molds are not fungi and are discussed in separate articles. For other uses, see Mold (disambiguation). \n \nMolds (or moulds) are microscopic multinucleated multicellular fungi made up of hyphae (tube-like structures) which are usually separated from each other by divisions called septa. They are genetically similar to yeasts.\n\nThere are thousands of known varieties of molds. Their primary energy source is organic matter which is broken down by enzymes released from the mycelia (the mass of hyphae) into simpler compounds. By decomposing organic matter, molds play a big part in material biodegradation, enabling decay and rot necessary in all ecosystems. The enzymes and mycotoxins can also inhibit the growth of other molds and microorganisms. Some mycotoxins are considered to be harmful to health. Adequate humidity and temperature are needed for optimal growth. Molds do not use photosynthesis to receive energy.\n\nMolds reproduce asexually through small spores, which can remain airborne indefinitely. Spores are able to survive extreme temperatures and pressure. Some molds can begin growing at temperatures as low as 2°C. When conditions do not enable growth, molds can remain alive in a dormant state, within a large range of temperatures before they die. This explains how molds can survive harsh conditions such as containers in refrigerators or inside building structure cavities. Moving air may prevent mold from growing since it has the same dessicating effect as lowering humidity.\n\nAlthough molds grow on organic matter everywhere in nature, their presence is only visible to the naked eye where conditions allow mold colonies to grow. In man-made environments, humidity and temperature are often stable enough to foster the growth of mold colonies, commonly seen as a downy or furry coating growing on food or surfaces. Thus buildings, being stable environments, enable mold proliferation.
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Fungi grow from mycelium, which is a white cob-webby network of very fine fibers under the ground.  \n\nI hope this is what you mean.
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mushrooms feed on decaying organic material, such as rotting logs and stumps. they also need water to survive.
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1) The correct balance of nutrients.\n2) The correct enviromental conditions including water, pH, light etc. Note that darkness is not best for all fungi.\n3) Elimination of competition.
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Yeast and fungi are parasites i.e. they dont synthesize their food  and has to thus depend upon other sourse.  They get their energy from the substrate they growing.\n\nmould or also called as fungi when grow on bread, it utilizes bread as its food, and grow, multiply and synthesize some enzymes which degrade  bread and gives bad odour.\n \ni am microbiologist myself for any other queires you can im me on arya_k2006.....hope it helps!!!
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its perfectly normal,dude...fungi grows on everything that can expire or dies... thats how they live.
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Spore bearing would be acceptable in this case.  Also, moss is not a fungus.
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They've got the starring role! Bacteria, fungi, protists, all of them pick away at whatever dead matter they find, and the important thing is that they often secrete digestive enzymes onto the stuff so it breaks down. This helps them have small food particles to ingest, and it cleans up the environment to boot.
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Everyone who answered already are blithering idiots. All fungi produce exoenzymes that break down the substrate (food) that their spores land on. Similar to flies, fungi produce these enzymes to break down foods into simple sugars that they can then easily absorb. Different fungi produce different exoenzymes. Therefore, if a fungal spore happens upon a particular substrate (food) for which it doesn't produce the proper exoenzyme, it will not grow on that food. The best substrates are potato extract agar and malt extract agar.
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Human pathology and Mycology ( Study of fungi)
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"Earth Science" is a very broad field.  Perhaps you could be a bit more specific.\n\nMold is a decomposer (i.e. it breaks down dead things).  Various species of mold also secrete antibacteria agents (that's where penicillin comes from), which is pretty cool but probably not relevant to your project.