Litter decomposition is one of the deterministic processes that link primary productivity and soil productivity, being the basic process for the global storage of carbon and elements in soil organic matter as well as for the biogeochemical cycling of elements. Long-established popular decomposition-based biogeochemical models have generalized the dynamics of carbon, and nitrogen, with little consideration of the significant variation in chemical composition among plant species. This variation is noticeable in regard to main carbon compounds, main nutrients, and elements. The rich variation in decomposition patterns following litter species and main ecosystems remains to be discovered.

In recent decades, human activities have significantly impacted the biogeochemical cycling of elements including carbon, nitrogen, and further nutrients. This impact is tied to changing stores of mainly soil organic carbon and nitrogen but also to main plant nutrients and elements including trace elements. The carbon compounds shed by plants as litter are organized in tissues that are chemically and structurally different among plant species. Their patterns may also change as decomposition proceeds. Their long- and short-term stability and ability to bind and hold elements are variable among plant litter types and species and the decomposition patterns.

The transition of plant litter to soil organic matter or humus is a process that has been followed and studied to a very limited extent using modern techniques. Both its rate and frequency act as regulating factors and are important for the process as well as the organic chemistry and element composition of the litter. A crucial aspect is that many of the trace elements are essential (Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, and Zn) for the decomposition of different organic compounds to continue, while hyperaccumulation and accumulation of other elements (Cd, Cr, As, Pb, Al) can retard the decomposition process due to negative effects on the community of decomposing organisms inhabiting organic matter and soil.

There is very limited data available on the long-term dynamics of plant litter decomposition including main elements and trace elements for in-situ litter decomposition under natural conditions. Particularly, the knowledge gap is evident in the main regulating factors for the decomposition process, especially during the late stage. Existing decomposition studies are often too short-term and too few to allow any conclusion about generality. To fill the knowledge gap, quantifying baseline information about the long-term decomposition patterns for litter tissue and its chemistry is essential for predicting the impact the patterns can have on the various components of plant litter and its decomposition.

We welcome submissions including, but not limited to the following themes:

1. Long-term studies on plant litter decomposition including chemical analyses
2. Effects of elements and organic compounds on litter decomposition patterns
3. Rate regulating factors during decomposition
4. Accumulation and mobilization of nutrients and elements during litter decomposition.
5. Elemental dynamics linked to litter decomposition.
6. Formation of humic acids during litter decomposition.
7. Syntheses of global patterns of rate-regulating factors for litter decomposition.

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