Data for: Decomposability of leaf and wood litter are not correlated across species: Effects of litter traits on decomposition in field and laboratory conditions

Changes in tree species composition have important effects on the overall rate of litter decomposition at a community level because litter decomposability varies among species and between leaf and wood litter. To understand how changes in tree species composition affect litter dynamics and carbon sequestration at the ecosystem level, it is important to clarify interspecific variations in leaf and wood litter decomposability and the traits driving the variation.
Using field data, field experiments, and laboratory experiments, we explored rates of leaf and wood litter decomposition and their relationships to traits of ten deciduous hardwood species in a temperate forest in Japan. Rates of leaf and wood litter decomposition at the community level were also estimated by considering species-specific litter inputs and decomposition rates.
Rates of leaf and wood litter decomposition were not correlated under either field or controlled laboratory conditions. This is probably because the traits...