The chemical complexity of decomposing plant litter is a central feature shaping the terrestrial carbon ( C ) cycle, but explanations of the origin of this complexity remain contentious. Here, we ask: How does litter chemistry change during decomposition, and what roles do decomposers play in these changes? During a long‐term (730 days) litter decomposition experiment, we tracked concurrent changes in decomposer community stru...

Global changes such as variations in plant net primary production are likely to drive shifts in leaf litterfall inputs to forest soils, but the effects of such changes on soil carbon ( C ) cycling and storage remain largely unknown, especially in C ‐rich tropical forest ecosystems. We initiated a leaf litterfall manipulation experiment in a tropical rain forest in C osta R ica to test the sensitivity of surface soil C pools an...

A common finding in multiple CO 2 enrichment experiments in forests is the lack of soil carbon ( C ) accumulation owing to microbial priming of ‘old’ soil organic matter ( SOM ). However, soil C losses may also result from the accelerated turnover of ‘young’ microbial tissues that are rich in nitrogen ( N ) relative to bulk SOM . We measured root‐induced changes in soil C dynamics in a pine forest exposed to elevated CO 2 and...