The contribution of fungi and bacteria to the decomposition of alder leaves was examined at two reference and two polluted sites in the Ave River (northwestern Portugal). Leaf mass loss, microbial production from incorporation rates of radiolabeled compounds into biomolecules, fungal biomass from ergosterol concentration, sporulation rates, and diversity of aquatic hyphomycetes associated with decomposing leaves were determined. The concentrations of organic nutrients and of inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus in the stream water was elevated and increased at downstream sites. Leaf decomposition rates were high (0.013 day ⁻¹ < k < 0.042 day ⁻¹ ), and the highest value was estimated at the most downstream polluted site, where maximum values of microbial production and fungal biomass and sporulation were found. The slowest decomposition occurred at the other polluted site, where, along with the nutrient enrichment, the lowest current velocity and dissolved-oxygen concentration in water were observed. At this site, fungal production, biomass, and sporulation were depressed, suggesting that stimulation of fungal activity by increased nutrient concentrations might be offset by other factors. Although bacterial production was higher at polluted sites, fungi accounted for more than 94% of the total microbial net production. Fungal yield coefficients varied from 10.2 to 13.6%, while those of bacteria were less than 1%. The contribution of fungi to overall leaf carbon loss (29.0 to 38.8%) greatly exceeded that of bacteria (4.2 to 13.9%).

Summary: A major challenge in environmental risk assessment of pollutants is establishing a causal relationship between field exposure and community effects that integrates both structural and functional complexity within ecosystems. Pollution‐induced community tolerance (PICT) is a concept that evaluates whether pollutants have exerted a selection pressure on natural communities. PICT detects whether a pollutant has eliminated sensitive species from a community and thereby increased its tolerance. PICT has the potential to link assessments of the ecological and chemical status of ecosystems by providing causal analysis for effect‐based monitoring of impacted field sites. Using PICT measurements and microbial community endpoints in environmental assessment schemes could give more ecological relevance to the tools that are now used in environmental risk assessment. Here, we propose practical guidance and a list of research issues that should be further considered to apply the PICT concept in the field.