Title：
Divergent controls of climate and chemical traits on the decomposition of leaf litter, fine roots, and coarse roots: a global synthesis
Authors：
Corresponding
Author：
Xiaoxiang Zhao, Qiuxiang Tian, Siying Gong, Anders Michelsen, Li Xiao, Lihua Fu, Yan Yang, Rudong Zhao, Liang Chen, Feng Liu*
Pubyear：
2026
Title of
Journal：
Catena
Paper
Code：
Volume：
272
Number：
Page：
272:110391
Others：
Classification：
Source：
Abstract：
Decomposition of plant leaf litter and roots drives ecosystem carbon and nutrient cycling. However, global differences in their decomposition rates and the relative influences of climate versus initial chemical traits remain poorly understood. We synthesized 2885 observations from 227 studies (1225 species) to compare decomposition rates among leaf litter, fine roots, and coarse roots, and to evaluate their climatic and chemical drivers across functional groups. Results showed that leaf litter decomposed significantly faster than both root types, which did not differ from each other. Climatic factors, specifically mean annual temperature (MAT) and precipitation (MAP), promoted leaf litter and fine root decomposition. In contrast, coarse roots showed no response to MAP in any functional group. Chemically, decomposition of leaf litter and coarse roots generally increased with nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentrations and decreased with lignin, whereas fine-root decomposition was insensitive to P. In woody plants, N, P, and lignin strongly regulated decomposition. In herbaceous plants, fine-root decomposition was largely decoupled from initial chemical traits, with the exception of a positive correlation with N concentration. Globally, the decomposition of leaf litter and fine roots is primarily driven by climate and initial chemical traits, whereas coarse-root decomposition is mainly explained by initial chemical traits. Collectively, our findings reveal divergent above-versus belowground decomposition dynamics and complex chemical regulations, advancing mechanistic insights into litter decomposition and its global controls.
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