Plant litter decomposition is an indispensable link for matter cycling of ecosystem and an important function of the system. Vast literature has been published for the research on litter decomposition. However, little work has been done on the function in its relation to biodiversity.

A post graduate student LI Shanshan, under the instruction of Prof WANG Zhengwen, collected senescent leaves of 4 tree species: Alniphyllumfortunei, Idesiapolycarpa, Cinnamomumcamphora and Daphniphyllumoldhamii, each with 4 seed family, from subtropical forest and made various mix, then put them into the micro-cosmos containing soil collected in-situ with the leaves and then incubated in dark at 25℃ for 12 weeks. Two hundred and 46 micro-cosmos were designed and recorded.

The results show that the litter decomposition rate is related to the tree species and species diversity. The rate increased with the number of seed family contained in the litter mix. The rate is not affected by the initial carbon content, but negatively related to the N content and N/P ratio.

The research linked biodiversity and its important ecosystem function, not only tree species diversity, but also genetic diversity.

The results were published in Journal of Plant Ecology entitled as Species and Genetic Diversity Affect Leaf Litter Decomposition in Subtropical Broadleaved Forest in Southern China. The work was supported by NNSFC and German Research Fund.