The overall decomposition of the spring-lodged litter is faster than the autumn-lodged litter in a steppe ecosystem

In grasslands, a large proportion of senescent plant shoots in autumn pass the winter period as standing dead materials instead of becoming detached litter immediately. However, the information is hardly available on the decomposition of plant standing dead materials during the winter period and its impacts on the subsequent decomposition of these materials after littering in the coming spring. We conducted a two-year experiment to compare the decomposition process of the litters lodged in autumn versus that lodged in spring of two dominant plant species, Leymus chinensis and Stipa grandis, in a native steppe ecosystem in Inner Mongolia. Throughout the whole decomposition period, the autumn-lodged litter was directly positioned upon the soil surface, while the spring-lodged litter suspended as standing dead for the first 7 months in the autumn and winter period before being detached. We found that the overall decomposition rate of spring-lodged litter was faster than that of autumn..., , # The overall decomposition of the spring-lodged litter is faster than the autumn-lodged litter in a steppe ecosystem

Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.wwpzgmszh](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.wwpzgmszh)

## Description of the data and file structure

**Litter type**: Represents the seasonal type of litter, classified according to the exposure conditions before the litter comes into contact with the ground and begins decomposition.

    “Spring” — Refers to litter that remains standing for approximately seven months before falling to the ground. During this period, it undergoes a photodegradation phase under sunlight exposure, after which it contacts the soil surface and begins decomposition.

    “Autumn”— Refers to litter that falls directly to the ground in autumn without a prior sunlight exposure phase, and its decomposition occurs entirely on the soil surface.

**Month:** The month or time point at which samples were collected, indicating decomposition duration.

**State:** Divide the m...,