Understanding the dominant controls on litter decomposition
Open accessAbstract
Summary: Litter decomposition is a biogeochemical process fundamental to element cycling within ecosystems, influencing plant productivity, species composition and carbon storage. Climate has long been considered the primary broad‐scale control on litter decomposition rates, yet recent work suggests that plant litter traits may predominate. Both decomposition paradigms, however, rely on inferences from cross‐biome litter decomposition studies that analyse site‐level means. We re‐analyse data from a classical cross‐biome study to demonstrate that previous research may falsely inflate the regulatory role of climate on decomposition and mask the influence of unmeasured local‐scale factors. Using the re‐analysis as a platform, we advocate experimental designs of litter decomposition studies that involve high within‐site replication, measurements of regulatory factors and processes at the same local spatial grain, analysis of individual observations and biome‐scale gradients. Synthesis . We question the assumption that climate is the predominant regulator of decomposition rates at broad spatial scales. We propose a framework for a new generation of studies focused on factoring local‐scale variation into the measurement and analysis of soil processes across broad scales. Such efforts may suggest a revised decomposition paradigm and ultimately improve confidence in the structure, parameter estimates and hence projections of biogeochemical models.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Only the averages of aggregated microenvironmental variables can support the hypothesis that climate is the primary control over decomposition rate.
“only the averages of aggregated microenvironmental variables can support the hypothesis that climate is the primary control over decomposition rate (19).”
From Substrate and climate determine terrestrial litter decomposition (2025) · cites this paper as [19]
The “Grouped vs. individual data” section says site-level means can exaggerate climate’s apparent importance: mean annual temperature explains 86% of variation in grouped data, versus 71% in individual observations. But the claim’s “only” overstates the result, since individual observations still show a substantial climate association. The paper analyzes site-level climate measures, not averages of measured microenvironmental variables; the “The data set” section says climate was not measured at the litterbag scale. (LLM, conf=0.87)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredPrevious studies identified important and representative variables for litter decomposition.
“The selection of variables is based on two main criteria: First, the conclusions proposed by previous studies (7, 19–21, 23), which identified important and representative variables; and second, the availability and reliability of data sources for these variables at global scale.”
From Substrate and climate determine terrestrial litter decomposition (2025) · cites this paper as [19]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Mixed effects models and extensions in ecology with R
Zuur, A. F., Ieno, E. N., Walker, N., Saveliev, A. A., & Smith, G. M. (2009) · Statistics for Biology and Health · doi:10.1007/978-0-387-87458-6 · Cited by 17,963 · see citing works
Nakagawa, S., & Schielzeth, H. (2013) · Methods in Ecology and Evolution · doi:10.1111/j.2041-210x.2012.00261.x · Cited by 10,356 · see citing works
Generalized linear mixed models: a practical guide for ecology and evolution
Bolker, B. M., Brooks, M. E., Clark, C. J., Geange, S. W., Poulsen, J. R., Stevens, M. H. H., & White, J.-S. S. (2009) · Trends in Ecology & Evolution · doi:10.1016/j.tree.2008.10.008 · Cited by 8,910 · see citing works
Mixed-effects modeling with crossed random effects for subjects and items
Baayen, R. H., Davidson, D. J., & Bates, D. M. (2008) · Journal of Memory and Language · doi:10.1016/j.jml.2007.12.005 · Cited by 8,540 · see citing works
Temperature sensitivity of soil carbon decomposition and feedbacks to climate change
Davidson, E. A., & Janssens, I. A. (2006) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature04514 · Cited by 6,919 · see citing works
Decomposition in Terrestrial Ecosystems
Swift, M. J., Heal, O. W., & Anderson, J. M. (1979) · University of California Press eBooks · doi:10.1525/9780520407114 · Cited by 4,586 · see citing works
Energy Storage and the Balance of Producers and Decomposers in Ecological Systems
Olson, J. S. (1963) · Ecology · doi:10.2307/1932179 · Cited by 3,848 · see citing works
Biogeochemistry: an Analysis of Global Change
(1991) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/c2012-0-01654-7 · Cited by 3,444 · see citing works
F. Dormann, C., M. McPherson, J., B. Araújo, M., Bivand, R., Bolliger, J., Carl, G., G. Davies, R., Hirzel, A., Jetz, W., Daniel Kissling, W., et al. (2007) · Ecography · doi:10.1111/j.2007.0906-7590.05171.x · Cited by 3,433 · see citing works
Simple means to improve the interpretability of regression coefficients
Schielzeth, H. (2010) · Methods in Ecology and Evolution · doi:10.1111/j.2041-210x.2010.00012.x · Cited by 3,027 · see citing works
Cornwell, W. K., Cornelissen, J. H. C., Amatangelo, K., Dorrepaal, E., Eviner, V. T., Godoy, O., Hobbie, S. E., Hoorens, B., Kurokawa, H., Pérez‐Harguindeguy, N., et al. (2008) · Ecology Letters · doi:10.1111/j.1461-0248.2008.01219.x · Cited by 2,855 · see citing works
Scaling regression inputs by dividing by two standard deviations
Gelman, A. (2007) · Statistics in Medicine · doi:10.1002/sim.3107 · Cited by 2,536 · see citing works
Aerts, R. (1997) · Oikos · doi:10.2307/3546886 · Cited by 1,786 · see citing works
Conant, R. T., Ryan, M. G., Ågren, G. I., Birge, H. E., Davidson, E. A., Eliasson, P. E., Evans, S. E., Frey, S. D., Giardina, C. P., Hopkins, F. M., et al. (2011) · Global Change Biology · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2486.2011.02496.x · Cited by 1,635 · see citing works
Self-citationDynamics of C, N, P and S in grassland soils: a model
Parton, W. J., Stewart, J. W., & Cole, C. V. (1988) · Biogeochemistry · doi:10.1007/bf02180320 · Cited by 1,446 · see citing works
Macroclimate and Lignin Control of Litter Decomposition Rates
Meentemeyer, V. G. (1978) · Ecology · doi:10.2307/1936576 · Cited by 1,407 · see citing works
Global-Scale Similarities in Nitrogen Release Patterns During Long-Term Decomposition
Parton, W., Silver, W. L., Burke, I. C., Grassens, L., Harmon, M. E., Currie, W. S., King, J. Y., Adair, E. C., Brandt, L. A., Hart, S. C., et al. (2007) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1134853 · Cited by 1,326 · see citing works
Rates of litter decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems: global patterns and controlling factors
Zhang, D., Hui, D., Luo, Y., & Zhou, G. (2008) · Journal of Plant Ecology · doi:10.1093/jpe/rtn002 · Cited by 1,181 · see citing works
Moyano, F. E., Manzoni, S., & Chenu, C. (2013) · Soil Biology and Biochemistry · doi:10.1016/j.soilbio.2013.01.002 · Cited by 1,079 · see citing works
Prescott, C. E. (2010) · Biogeochemistry · doi:10.1007/s10533-010-9439-0 · Cited by 1,057 · see citing works
Identification and Review of Sensitivity Analysis Methods
Christopher Frey, H., & Patil, S. R. (2002) · Risk Analysis · doi:10.1111/0272-4332.00039 · Cited by 1,036 · see citing works
How to avoid a perfunctory sensitivity analysis
Saltelli, A., & Annoni, P. (2010) · Environmental Modelling & Software · doi:10.1016/j.envsoft.2010.04.012 · Cited by 1,010 · see citing works
Global soil carbon projections are improved by modelling microbial processes
Wieder, W. R., Bonan, G. B., & Allison, S. (2013) · Nature Climate Change · doi:10.1038/nclimate1951 · Cited by 1,010 · see citing works
Self-citationGholz, H. L., Wedin, D. A., Smitherman, S. M., Harmon, M. E., & Parton, W. J. (2000) · Global Change Biology · doi:10.1046/j.1365-2486.2000.00349.x · Cited by 950 · see citing works
Plant litter decomposition in a semi-arid ecosystem controlled by photodegradation
Austin, A. T., & Vivanco, L. (2006) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature05038 · Cited by 830 · see citing works
Consequences of biodiversity loss for litter decomposition across biomes
Handa, I. T., Aerts, R., Berendse, F., Berg, M. P., Bruder, A., Butenschoen, O., Chauvet, E., Gessner, M. O., Jabiol, J., Makkonen, M., et al. (2014) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature13247 · Cited by 828 · see citing works
Engqvist, L. (2005) · Animal Behaviour · doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2005.01.016 · Cited by 782 · see citing works
Long‐Term Forage Production of North American Shortgrass Steppe
Lauenroth, W. K., & Sala, O. E. (1992) · Ecological Applications · doi:10.2307/1941874 · Cited by 726 · see citing works
Beyond Bar and Line Graphs: Time for a New Data Presentation Paradigm
Weissgerber, T. L., Milic, N. M., Winham, S. J., & Garovic, V. D. (2015) · PLoS Biology · doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1002128 · Cited by 713 · see citing works
García‐Palacios, P., Maestre, F. T., Kattge, J., & Wall, D. H. (2013) · Ecology Letters · doi:10.1111/ele.12137 · Cited by 679 · see citing works
Carbon–Concentration and Carbon–Climate Feedbacks in CMIP5 Earth System Models
Arora, V. K., Boer, G. J., Friedlingstein, P., Eby, M., JONES, C. D., Christian, J. R., Bonan, G. B., Bopp, L., Brovkin, V. A., Cadule, P., et al. (2013) · Journal of Climate · doi:10.1175/jcli-d-12-00494.1 · Cited by 666 · see citing works
Wardle, D. A. (2013) · Princeton University Press eBooks · doi:10.1515/9781400847297 · Cited by 642 · see citing works
Global decomposition experiment shows soil animal impacts on decomposition are climate‐dependent
WALL, D. H., BRADFORD, M. A., ST. JOHN, M. G., TROFYMOW, J. A., BEHAN‐PELLETIER, V., BIGNELL, D. E., DANGERFIELD, J. M., PARTON, W. J., RUSEK, J., VOIGT, W., et al. (2008) · Global Change Biology · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2486.2008.01672.x · Cited by 542 · see citing works
Self-citationAdair, E. C., Parton, W. J., GROSSO, S. J. D., Silver, W. L., Harmon, M. E., Hall, S. A., Burke, I. C., & Hart, S. C. (2008) · Global Change Biology · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2486.2008.01674.x · Cited by 530 · see citing works
Berg, B., Berg, M., Bottner, P., Box, E., Breymeyer, A., de Anta, R. C., Couteaux, M., Escudero, A., Gallardo, A., Kratz, W., et al. (1993) · Biogeochemistry · doi:10.1007/bf00000785 · Cited by 504 · see citing works
Self-citationMakkonen, M., Berg, M. P., Handa, I. T., Hättenschwiler, S., van Ruijven, J., van Bodegom, P. M., & Aerts, R. (2012) · Ecology Letters · doi:10.1111/j.1461-0248.2012.01826.x · Cited by 502 · see citing works
Drake, J. E., Gallet‐Budynek, A., Hofmockel, K., Bernhardt, E. S., Billings, S., Jackson, R. B., Johnsen, K. S., Lichter, J. M., McCarthy, H. R., McCormack, M., et al. (2011) · Ecology Letters · doi:10.1111/j.1461-0248.2011.01593.x · Cited by 459 · see citing works
Microbial abundance and composition influence litter decomposition response to environmental change
Allison, S., Lu, Y., Weihe, C., Goulden, M. L., Martiny, A. C., Treseder, K. K., & Martiny, J. B. H. (2012) · Ecology · doi:10.1890/12-1243.1 · Cited by 451 · see citing works
Individuals and the Variation Needed for High Species Diversity in Forest Trees
Clark, J. S. (2010) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1183506 · Cited by 447 · see citing works
Microbiota, fauna, and mesh size interactions in litter decomposition
Bradford, M. A., Tordoff, G. M., Eggers, T., Jones, T. H., & Newington, J. E. (2002) · Oikos · doi:10.1034/j.1600-0706.2002.990212.x · Cited by 433 · see citing works
Self-citationMicrobial communities and their relevance for ecosystem models: Decomposition as a case study
McGuire, K. L., & Treseder, K. K. (2009) · Soil Biology and Biochemistry · doi:10.1016/j.soilbio.2009.11.016 · Cited by 420 · see citing works
Long-term ecological dynamics: reciprocal insights from natural and anthropogenic gradients
Fukami, T., & Wardle, D. A. (2005) · Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rspb.2005.3277 · Cited by 416 · see citing works
Changes in soil organic carbon storage predicted by Earth system models during the 21st century
Todd-Brown, K. E., Randerson, J. T., Hopkins, F. M., Arora, V. K., Hajima, T., JONES, C. D., Shevliakova, E., Tjiputra, J. F., Volodin, E. M., Wu, T., et al. (2014) · Biogeosciences · doi:10.5194/bg-11-2341-2014 · Cited by 411 · see citing works
Powers, J. S., Montgomery, R., Adair, E. C., Brearley, F. Q., DeWalt, S. J., Castanho, C. D. T., Chave, J., Deinert, E. I., Ganzhorn, J. U., Gilbert, M. E., et al. (2009) · Journal of Ecology · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2745.2009.01515.x · Cited by 377 · see citing works
A trait‐based approach for modelling microbial litter decomposition
Allison, S. (2012) · Ecology Letters · doi:10.1111/j.1461-0248.2012.01807.x · Cited by 368 · see citing works
Climate fails to predict wood decomposition at regional scales
Bradford, M. A., Warren II, R. J., Baldrian, P., Crowther, T. W., Maynard, D. S., Oldfield, E. E., Wieder, W. R., Wood, S. A., & King, J. R. (2014) · Nature Climate Change · doi:10.1038/nclimate2251 · Cited by 365 · see citing works
Self-citationStrickland, M. S., Osburn, E. D., Lauber, C. L., Fierer, N., & Bradford, M. A. (2008) · Functional Ecology · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2435.2008.01515.x · Cited by 337 · see citing works
Self-citationEcological forecasting and data assimilation in a data-rich era
Luo, Y., Ogle, K., Tucker, C. L., Fei, S., Gao, C., LaDeau, S. L., Clark, J. S., & SCHIMEL, D. S. (2011) · Ecological Applications · doi:10.1890/09-1275.1 · Cited by 327 · see citing works
Impacts of Soil Faunal Community Composition on Model Grassland Ecosystems
Bradford, M. A., Jones, T. H., Bardgett, R. D., Black, H. I. J., Boag, B., Bonkowski, M., Cook, R., Eggers, T., Gange, A. C., Grayston, S. J., et al. (2002) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1075805 · Cited by 319 · see citing works
Self-citationHarmon, M. E., Silver, W. L., Fasth, B. G., CHEN, H., Burke, I. C., Parton, W. J., Hart, S. C., Currie, W. S., & LIDET (2008) · Global Change Biology · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2486.2008.01837.x · Cited by 296 · see citing works
Leaf litter decomposition—Estimates of global variability based on Yasso07 model
Tuomi, M., Thum, T., Järvinen, H., Fronzek, S., Berg, B., Harmon, M., Trofymow, J. A., Sevanto, S., & Liski, J. (2009) · Ecological Modelling · doi:10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2009.05.016 · Cited by 280 · see citing works
Self-citationLong-term litter decomposition controlled by manganese redox cycling
Keiluweit, M., Nico, P., Harmon, M. E., Mao, J., Pett‐Ridge, J., & Kleber, M. (2015) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1508945112 · Cited by 276 · see citing works
Biotic interactions mediate soil microbial feedbacks to climate change
Crowther, T. W., Thomas, S. M., Maynard, D. S., Baldrián, P., Covey, K., Frey, S. D., van Diepen, L. T. A., & Bradford, M. A. (2015) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1502956112 · Cited by 262 · see citing works
Self-citationUntangling the fungal niche: the trait-based approach
Crowther, T. W., Maynard, D. S., Crowther, T. R., Peccia, J., Smith, J. R., & Bradford, M. A. (2014) · Frontiers in Microbiology · doi:10.3389/fmicb.2014.00579 · Cited by 257 · see citing works
Self-citationLitter decomposition rates in Canadian forests
Moore, T. R., Trofymow, J. A., Taylor, B. R., Prescott, C. E., Camiré, C., Duschene, L., Fyles, J. W., Kozak, L., Kranabetter, M., Morrison, I. K., et al. (1999) · Global Change Biology · doi:10.1046/j.1365-2486.1998.00224.x · Cited by 237 · see citing works
Rich State, Poor State, Red State, Blue State: What’s the Matter with Connecticut?
Gelman, A., Shor, B., Bafumi, J., & Park, D. (2007) · Quarterly Journal of Political Science · doi:10.1561/100.00006026 · Cited by 237 · see citing works
Bradford, M. A., Wood, S. A., Bardgett, R. D., Black, H. I. J., Bonkowski, M., Eggers, T., Grayston, S. J., Kandeler, E., Manning, P., Setälä, H. M., et al. (2014) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1413707111 · Cited by 234 · see citing works
Self-citationModelling the effects of loss of soil biodiversity on ecosystem function
Hunt, H. W., & Wall, D. H. (2002) · Global Change Biology · doi:10.1046/j.1365-2486.2002.00425.x · Cited by 224 · see citing works
Bonan, G. B., Hartman, M. D., Parton, W. J., & Wieder, W. R. (2012) · Global Change Biology · doi:10.1111/gcb.12031 · Cited by 220 · see citing works
Self-citationStatistics: P values are just the tip of the iceberg
Leek, J. T., & Peng, R. D. (2015) · Nature · doi:10.1038/520612a · Cited by 211 · see citing works
Ise, T., & Moorcroft, P. R. (2006) · Biogeochemistry · doi:10.1007/s10533-006-9019-5 · Cited by 175 · see citing works
Schlesinger, W. H. (2013) · Oxford Bibliographies in Ecology · doi:10.1093/obo/9780199830060-0111 · Cited by 175 · see citing works
Models of soil organic matter decomposition: the SoilR package, version 1.0
Sierra, C. A., Müller, M. M., & Trumbore, S. E. (2012) · Geoscientific model development · doi:10.5194/gmd-5-1045-2012 · Cited by 173 · see citing works
Keiser, A. D., Strickland, M. S., Fierer, N., & Bradford, M. A. (2011) · Biogeosciences · doi:10.5194/bg-8-1477-2011 · Cited by 151 · see citing works
Self-citationResolving ecosystem complexity
(2011) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.48-3266 · Cited by 150 · see citing works
COMPOSITION OF NATURAL ORGANIC MATERIALS AND THEIR DECOMPOSITION IN THE SOIL
Tenney, F. G., & Waksman, S. A. (1929) · Soil Science · doi:10.1097/00010694-192907000-00005 · Cited by 145 · see citing works
Resolving Ecosystem Complexity (MPB-47)
Schmitz, O. J. (2010) · doi:10.1515/9781400834174 · Cited by 145 · see citing works
Currie, W. S., Harmon, M. E., Burke, I. C., Hart, S. C., Parton, W. J., & Silver, W. L. (2009) · Global Change Biology · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2486.2009.02086.x · Cited by 137 · see citing works
Manzoni, S., Piñeiro, G., Jackson, R. B., Jobbagy, E. G., Kim, J. H., & Porporato, A. M. (2012) · Soil Biology and Biochemistry · doi:10.1016/j.soilbio.2012.02.029 · Cited by 129 · see citing works
Keenan, T. F., Davidson, E. A., Munger, J. W., & Richardson, A. D. (2012) · Ecological Applications · doi:10.1890/12-0747.1 · Cited by 109 · see citing works
Waring, B. G., Adams, R. I., Branco, S., & Powers, J. S. (2015) · New Phytologist · doi:10.1111/nph.13654 · Cited by 107 · see citing works
Bayesian Data—Model Integration in Plant Physiological and Ecosystem Ecology
Ogle, K., & Barber, J. J. (2007) · Progress in botany · doi:10.1007/978-3-540-72954-9_12 · Cited by 74 · see citing works
Disturbance Decouples Biogeochemical Cycles Across Forests of the Southeastern US
Keiser, A. D., Knoepp, J. D., & Bradford, M. A. (2015) · Ecosystems · doi:10.1007/s10021-015-9917-2 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
Self-citationResponse of microbial decomposition to spin-up explains CMIP5 soil carbon range until 2100
Exbrayat, J., Pitman, A. J., & Abramowitz, G. (2014) · Geoscientific model development · doi:10.5194/gmd-7-2683-2014 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Commentary: Individual, ecological and multilevel fallacies
Oakes, J. M. (2009) · International Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/ije/dyn356 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Ahrens, B., Reichstein, M., Borken, W., Muhr, J., Trumbore, S. E., & Wutzler, T. (2014) · Biogeosciences · doi:10.5194/bg-11-2147-2014 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Wood, S. A., & Mendelsohn, R. O. (2014) · Environment and Development Economics · doi:10.1017/s1355770x14000084 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
Self-citationResponse of microbial decomposition to spin-up explains CMIP5 soil carbon range until 2100Preprint
Exbrayat, J., Pitman, A. J., & Abramowitz, G. (2014) · doi:10.5194/gmdd-7-3481-2014 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Data from: Understanding the dominant controls on litter decomposition
Bradford, M. A., Berg, B., Maynard, D. S., Wieder, W. R., & Wood, S. A. (2015) · Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) · doi:10.5061/dryad.9t1s9 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Self-citation
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 2
- Ciais, P., Sabine, C., Bala, G., Bopp, L., Brovkin, V., Canadell, J. et al. (2013) Carbon and other biogeochemical cycles. Climate Change 2013: The Physi- cal Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (eds T.F. Stocker, D. Qin, G.-K. Plattner, M. Tignor, S.K. Allen, J. Boschung, A. Nauels, Y. Xia, V. Bex & P.M. Midgley), pp. 465-570. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
- IPCC (2013) Summary for policymakers. Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (eds T.F. Stocker, D. Qin, G.-K. Plattner, M. Tignor, S.K. Allen, J. Boschung, A. Nauels, Y. Xia, V. Bex & P.M. Midgley), pp. 3-29. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
A test of the hierarchical model of litter decomposition
Bradford, M. A., Veen, G. F., Bonis, A., Bradford, E. M., Classen, A. T., Cornelissen, J. H. C., Crowther, T. W., De Long, J. R., Freschet, G. T., Kardol, P., et al. (2017) · Nature Ecology & Evolution · doi:10.1038/s41559-017-0367-4 · Cited by 280 · see citing works
Self-citationSee, C. R., Luke McCormack, M., Hobbie, S. E., Flores‐Moreno, H., Silver, W. L., & Kennedy, P. G. (2019) · Ecology Letters · doi:10.1111/ele.13248 · Cited by 186 · see citing works
Substrate and climate determine terrestrial litter decomposition
Wu, Q., Ni, X., Sun, X., Chen, Z., Hong, S., Berg, B., Zheng, M., Chen, J., Zhu, J., Ai, L., et al. (2025) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.2420664122 · Cited by 67 · see citing works
“There (7), and only the averages of aggregated microenvironmental variables can support the hypothesis that climate is the primary control over decomposition rate (19).”
Self-citationMéndez, M. S., Ballaré, C. L., & Austin, A. T. (2022) · New Phytologist · doi:10.1111/nph.18253 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
- Authors
- Bradford, M. A., Berg, B., Maynard, D. S., Wieder, W. R., & Wood, S. A.
- Affiliations
- Yale University (US)
- University of Helsinki (FI)
- NSF National Center for Atmospheric Research (US)
- Corresponding author
- Bradford, Mark A.
- Venue
- Journal of Ecology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2015-11-27
- Volume
- 104
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 229-238
- ISSN
- 0022-0477 (ISSN-L)
- 1365-2745
- OpenAlex
- W2108600602
- Cited by
- 669
- References
- 79
- Citations by year
- 2026: 55 · 2025: 78 · 2024: 93 · 2023: 71 · 2022: 67 · 2021: 83 · 2020: 75 · 2019: 57 · 2018: 48 · 2017: 23 · 2016: 17
- FWCI
- 40.26
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of Ecology (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation (DEB‐1021098, DEB‐1457614)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Environmental and biological studies
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Nature and Landscape Conservation › Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- Keywords
- litter decomposition, climate control, spatial grain, soil biogeochemistry, carbon cycle, decomposition model
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
