Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

what are the chemical components of the fungus that can help to increase soil fertiity?

thank you..

It's not so much the chemical components of fungi that make them essential to soil development - it is their activity. Fungi are able to break down tough organic molecules like lignin that would otherwise be biologically unavailable in the carbon cycle.

These are decent sources of information for starters:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fungi#Ecological_role
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decomposers