Statement A is correct because detritivores (e.g., earthworms) break down detritus into smaller particles, a process called fragmentation . Statement B is correct because humus serves as a reservoir of nutrients and is further degraded by some microbes to release inorganic nutrients through mineralization . Statement C is correct because leaching involves water-soluble inorganic nutrients going down into the soil horizon and precipitating as unavailable salts . Statement D is incorrect because the detritus food chain begins with dead organic matter, not living organisms . Statement E is incorrect because the breakdown of detritus into smaller particles by earthworms is fragmentation; catabolism refers to the degradation of detritus into simpler inorganic substances by bacterial and fungal enzymes , .