Fungi have the ability to transform nutrients in a way that makes them available for plants. Some fungi are decomposers which mean that they break down plant and animal debris, thus cycling nutrient and increasing their availability in the soil. Bacteria break down (or decompose) dead organisms, animal waste, and plant litter to obtain nutrients. But microbes don't just eat nature's waste, they recycle it. The process of decomposition releases chemicals (such as carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus) that can be used to build new plants and animals.

Dr Ullas Prasanna Sadarahalli thank you for your contribution to the discussion

Fungi's main role in ecosystems is decomposition leading to recycling of nutrients. Also, many plants are dependent on fungi symbionts aiding roots in absorbing nutrients and water from the soil, and leading to greater productivity. Decomposers wood and litter decay fungi recycle carbon, minerals, and nutrients for use by other organisms, and contribute to the soil matrix physical properties. Decomposers [Bacteria and fungi] are the waste managers of any ecosystem. They are the final link in a food web breaking down dead organic matter from producers and consumers and ultimately returning energy to the atmosphere in respiration and inorganic molecules back to the soil during decomposition. Fungi can also function as nutrient cyclers, pathogens, and mutualists that live in a beneficial association with plants and other organisms.” We typically think of fungi as decomposers, but they are cryptic and do many different things. Fungi can also be human pathogens.In these environments, fungi play a major role as decomposers and recyclers, making it possible for members of the other kingdoms to be supplied with nutrients and live. The food web would be incomplete without organisms that decompose organic matter. Fungi conjointly play a basic role in different physiological processes as well as mineral and water uptake, chemical change, stomatal movement, and biosynthesis of compounds termed biostimulants, auxins, lignan, and ethylene to enhance the flexibility of plants to ascertain and cope environmental stresses like drought. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) represent the most common symbiotic relationship between fungi and plants wherein, fungal partner promotes pollutant removal by providing higher surface area for absorption of pollutants through its hyphae and spores by mobilizing the pollutants and binding to the root. Fungi and bacteria are essential to many basic ecosystem processes. Some types of fungi and bacteria can break down fallen wood and litter returning nutrients to the soil. Other types can fix nitrogen in the soil and help plants get nutrients from the soil. Fungi are not able to ingest their food like animals do, nor can they manufacture their own food the way plants do. Instead, fungi feed by absorption of nutrients from the environment around them. They accomplish this by growing through and within the substrate on which they are feeding. Along with bacteria, fungi are important decomposers of hard to digest organic matter. They use nitrogen in the soil to decompose woody carbon rich residues low in nitrogen and convert the nutrients in the residues to forms that are more accessible for other organisms. Fungal and bacterial species are able to detect the plant host and initiate their colonization strategies in the rhizosphere by producing canonical plant growth-regulating substances such as auxins or cytokinins. Bacteria are unicellular microorganisms, coming under prokaryotic classification. It is the most ancient living being on earth with a simple cell structure. Fungi are unicellular organisms, coming under the classification of eukaryotic. Notably, they possess a complicated cell structure. Mycorrhizal fungi develop a symbiotic relationship with plants. The fungi take up space in the tissue of plant roots. In beneficial relationships, mycorrhizal fungi help plant roots absorb water and minerals, i.e., phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium. Bacteria play many roles in our ecosystem. Bacteria are decomposers which break down dead material and recycle it. They also can be producers, making food from sunlight, such as photosynthetic bacteria, or chemicals, such as chemosynthetic bacteria.