Rates of litter decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems: global patterns and controlling factors

We aim to construct a comprehensive global database of litter decomposition rate (k value) estimated by surface floor litterbags, and investigate the direct and indirect effects of impact factors such as geographic factors (latitude and altitude), climatic factors (mean annual tempePlrature, MAT; mean annual precipitation, MAP) and litter quality factors (the contents of N, P, K, Ca, Mg and C:N ratio, lignin:N ratio) on litter decomposition. We compiled a large data set of litter decomposition rates (k values) from 110 research sites and conducted simple, multiple regression and path analyses to explore the relationship between the k values and impact factors at the global scale. The k values tended to…