In a review published over two decades ago I asserted that, along soil fertility gradients,
plant traits change in ways that reinforce patterns of soil fertility and net primary productivity …

The increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2) concentrations due to emissions from
fossil fuel combustion is contributing to recent climate change which is among the major …

Carbon (C) derived from roots, rhizodeposition of living roots and dead root decomposition,
plays a critical role in soil organic C (SOC) sequestration. Recent studies suggest that root …

Key recent developments in litter decomposition research are reviewed. Long-term inter-site
experiments indicate that temperature and moisture influence early rates of litter …

The relative activities of soil enzymes involved in mineralizing organic carbon (C), nitrogen
(N), and phosphorus (P) reveal stoichiometric and energetic constraints on microbial …

Agroforestry is a sustainable land use system with a promising potential to sequester
atmospheric carbon into soil. This system of land use distinguishes itself from the other …

Microbial communities and their associated enzyme activities affect the amount and
chemical quality of carbon (C) in soils. Increasing nitrogen (N) deposition, particularly in N …

Tropical forests dominate global terrestrial carbon (C) exchange, and recent droughts in the
Amazon Basin have contributed to short‐term declines in terrestrial carbon dioxide uptake …

Summary 1 Litter decomposition recycles nutrients and causes large fluxes of carbon
dioxide into the atmosphere. It is typically assumed that climate, litter quality and …

Proper estimates of decomposition are essential for tropical forests, given their key role in
the global carbon (C) cycle. However, the current paradigm for litter decomposition is …