Arbuscular (AM) and ectomycorrhizal (ECM) trees show significant differences with how they cycle soil nutrients and interact with fungi. To explore these interactions, we isolated fungi from AM and ECM forested plots to test the hypothesis that fungi decompose leaves differently depending on their surrounding mycorrhizal associations. Our isolates were grown on leaves from an AM and ECM tree, then tested on various carbon substrates in agar to determine what they could break down efficiently. Results suggest that
isolates taken from AM plots were more effective at breaking down components generally found in AM trees, while isolates from ECM plots were effective at breaking down both litter types. Our results provide a better understanding of how saprotrophic fungi interact with trees of both mycorrhizal types.