LITTER

http://aem.asm.org/content/79/4/1385.full.pdf+html

One explanation given for the high microbial diversity found in soils is that they contain a large inactive biomass that is able to
persist in soils for long periods of time. This persistent microbial fraction may help to buffer the functionality of the soil community
during times of low nutrients by providing a reservoir of specialized functions that can be reactivated when conditions improve.
A study was designed to test the hypothesis: in soils lacking fresh root or detrital inputs, microbial community composition

http://www.frontiersin.org/Terrestrial_Microbiology/10.3389/fmicb.2012.0...

http://www.frontiersin.org/Terrestrial_Microbiology/10.3389/fmicb.2012.0...