The relative importance of litter quality or site characteristics in controlling decomposition rates in tropical forests is unclear. For example, in two long-term fertilization sites in Hawaiʻi, site quality was more important than litter quality in controlling decomposition rates for five out of six species. If site factors are elevated in importance, field experiments need better design, as few incorporate high within-site replication and collect environmental measurements at the scale of individual litterbags. The proliferation of long-term global change manipulations is an opportunity to conduct cross-site litter decomposition studies to better model direct and indirect effects on nutrient cycling rates.
