REVIEW PAPER
Progress in Research on the Effect
of Litter on the Carbon Cycle
More details
Hide details
1
Qinghai Academy of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Qinghai University, Xining, 810016, China
2
Qinghai University, Xining, 810016, China
Submission date: 2025-07-03
Final revision date: 2025-08-21
Acceptance date: 2025-10-02
Online publication date: 2025-12-09
Corresponding author
Kejia De
Qinghai Academy of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Qinghai University, Xining, 810016, China
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
The carbon cycle is a crucial biochemical process that constitutes the mechanism of carbon turnover,
circulation, and storage in the Earth’s system. During this process, litter, as one of the main sources
of soil organic carbon pools, has a significant impact on the dynamic processes of the global carbon
cycle. Based on the Web of Science Core Collection literature, 2,600 publications on the influence of
litter on the carbon cycle published from 1990 to 2023 were visualized and analyzed using VOSviewer
software. The majority of publications (72.31%) appeared between 2012 and 2023. The United States
is at the center of the international collaboration network, with the highest level of collaboration with
China, Germany, and the United Kingdom. The Chinese Academy of Sciences is the most productive
organization, and Yiqi Luo is the most published Chinese scholar. The top three core journals
in the field are Soil Biol. Biochem., Glob. Chang. Biol., and Ecology. There are differences in research
hotspots at different stages. Currently, the hotspots are “enzyme activity”, “microbial community”,
“bacteria”, “inter-root”, “soil temperature sensitivity”, “Loess Plateau”, “carbon storage”, and “organic
carbon turnover”. Meta-analysis showed that litter significantly enhanced soil total nitrogen, soil
respiration, soil organic carbon, soil moisture, pH, and β-glucosidase activity. The results of the study
indicate that related topics, such as the regulatory mechanisms of litter and the carbon cycle and
the expression of functional genes, are becoming potential frontiers for future research, providing
a perspective for future innovation research.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
REFERENCES (86)
1.
LIU L., PANG D., WANG X., CHEN L., LI X., WU M., LIU B., ZHU Z., LI J., WANG J. Progress in the application of stabilized carbon isotope techniques in soil organic carbon research. Arid Zone Research. 38 (1), 123, 2021.
2.
LORANGER G., PONGE J.-F., IMBERT D., LAVELLE P. Leaf decomposition in two semi-evergreen tropical forests: influence of litter quality. Biology and fertility of soils. 35, 247, 2002.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374....
3.
KUZYAKOV Y., HORWATH W.R., DORODNIKOV M., BLAGODATSKAYA E. Review and synthesis of the effects of elevated atmospheric CO2 on soil processes: No changes in pools, but increased fluxes and accelerated cycles. Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 128, 66, 2019.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soil....
4.
YU H., WANG J., WAN F., ZHOU X., CAI M., OU Q., LI W. Progress of research on the influence of plant apoplastic matter on soil organic matter decomposition. Journal of Biosafety. 27 (2), 88, 2018.
5.
SAYER E.J. Using experimental manipulation to assess the roles of leaf litter in the functioning of forest ecosystems. Biological Reviews. 81 (1), 1, 2006.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S14647....
6.
SHI X., PAN J., CHEN J., YANG Z., ZHANG L., SUN B., LI Z. Impacts of different types of apoplastic litter on soil organic carbon mineralization. Environmental Research. 30 (6), 1832, 2009.
7.
CHENG K., PAN G. Under the "Four Per Mile Initiative: Soils for Security and Climate" Challenges and Strategies for China's Action. Climate Change Research. 12 (5), 457, 2016.
8.
SARIYILDIZ T., ANDERSON J. Interactions between litter quality, decomposition and soil fertility: a laboratory study. Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 35 (3), 391, 2003.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0038-....
9.
XU X., HIRATA E. Decomposition patterns of leaf litter of seven common canopy species in a subtropical forest: N and P dynamics. Plant and Soil. 273, 279, 2005.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104....
10.
HÄTTENSCHWILER S., TIUNOV A.V., SCHEU S. Biodiversity and litter decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics. 36 (1), 191, 2005.
https://doi.org/10.1146/annure....
11.
CORNWELL W.K., CORNELISSEN J.H., AMATANGELO K., DORREPAAL E., EVINER V.T., GODOY O., HOBBIE S.E., HOORENS B., KUROKAWA H., PÉREZ‐HARGUINDEGUY N. Plant species traits are the predominant control on litter decomposition rates within biomes worldwide. Ecology Letters. 11 (10), 1065, 2008.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461....
12.
YANG X., WANG X., XIAO S., LIU Z., ZHOU X., DU G., LIU K., WANG Y., CHEN S., NIELSEN U.N. Dominant plants affect litter decomposition mainly through modifications of the soil microbial community. Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 161, 108399, 2021.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soil....
14.
MADRITCH M.D., HUNTER M.D. Intraspecific litter diversity and nitrogen deposition affect nutrient dynamics and soil respiration. Oecologia. 136, 124, 2003.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442....
15.
MEIER C.L., BOWMAN W.D. Links between plant litter chemistry, species diversity, and below-ground ecosystem function. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 105 (50), 19780, 2008.
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0....
16.
METCALFE D.B., FISHER R.A., WARDLE D.A. Plant communities as drivers of soil respiration: pathways, mechanisms, and significance for global change. Biogeosciences. 8 (8), 2047, 2011.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-8-2....
17.
ZHANG H., HUANG Y., AN S., ZENG Q., WANG B., BAI X., HUANG Q. Decay stages and meteorological factors affect microbial community during leaf litter in situ decomposition. Soil Ecology Letters. 5 (3), 220160, 2023.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s42832....
18.
ZHENG H., YANG T., BAO Y., HE P., YANG K., MEI X., WEI Z., XU Y., SHEN Q., BANERJEE S. Network analysis and subsequent culturing reveal keystone taxa involved in microbial litter decomposition dynamics. Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 157, 108230, 2021.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soil....
19.
MUFUNGIZI A.A., MUSAKWA W., CHANZA N. Shifting ecosystems, past, current, and emerging trends: A bibliometric analysis and systematic review of literature. Ecological Indicators. 156, 111175, 2023.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecol....
20.
QIU Y., ZUO S., YU Z., ZHAN Y., REN Y. Discovering the effects of integrated green space air regulation on human health: A bibliometric and meta-analysis. Ecological Indicators. 132, 108292, 2021.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecol....
22.
HU X., CHEN D., YAN F., ZHENG X., FANG X., BAI Y., ZHAO J., MA X., MA C., CAI X. Global research trends on the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on the soil carbon cycle: A bibliometric analysis. Ecological Indicators. 158, 111543, 2024.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecol....
23.
PAN B., ZHANG F., ZHU X., HUANG L., WU Y., TANG J.-Q., FENG N.-X. Global trends and hotspots evolution in soil microplastic pollution research: A bibliometric analysis based on the Web of Science. Ecological Indicators. 161, 111974, 2024.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecol....
24.
ARAÚJO A.G., CARNEIRO A.M.P., PALHA R.P. Sustainable construction management: A systematic review of the literature with meta-analysis. Journal of Cleaner Production. 256, 120350, 2020.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcle....
25.
MORA L., BOLICI R., DEAKIN M. The first two decades of smart-city research: A bibliometric analysis. Journal of Urban Technology. 24 (1), 3, 2017.
https://doi.org/10.1080/106307....
26.
DE LAS HERAS A., RELINQUE-MEDINA F., ZAMORA-POLO F., LUQUE-SENDRA A. Analysis of the evolution of the sharing economy towards sustainability. Trends and transformations of the concept. Journal of Cleaner Production. 291, 125227, 2021.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcle....
27.
LI J., GOERLANDT F., RENIERS G. Mapping process safety: A retrospective scientometric analysis of three process safety related journals (1999-2018). Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries. 65, 104141, 2020.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jlp.....
28.
VAN ECK N., WALTMAN L. Software survey: VOSviewer, a computer program for bibliometric mapping. Scientometrics. 84 (2), 523, 2010.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192....
29.
VAN ECK N.J., WALTMAN L. VOSviewer manual. Manual for VOSviewer version. 1 (0), 2011.
30.
LI J., GOERLANDT F., RENIERS G. An overview of scientometric mapping for the safety science community: Methods, tools, and framework. Safety Science. 134, 105093, 2021.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci....
31.
LIN W., DE K., WEI X., WANG W., ZHANG L., XIANG X., LI F. Visual analysis of alpine meadow research trends and hotspots based on VOS viewer. Frontiers in Environmental Science. 11, 1095299, 2023.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.....
32.
LING J., FAN Y.-Q., HU L.-W., ZHANG Y.-H., CAI L., ZHANG X.-H., YANG Y.-H., ZHANG H.-J. Visualization analysis of hotspots of research on SARS-CoV-2 based on CiteSpace and VOSviewer. 2020.
33.
DE NOOY W., MRVAR A., BATAGELJ V. Exploratory social network analysis with Pajek: Revised and expanded edition for updated software. Cambridge University Press, 2018.
https://doi.org/10.1017/978110....
34.
HASSAN-MONTERO Y., DE-MOYA-ANEGÓN F., GUERRERO-BOTE V.P. SCImago Graphica: a new tool for exploring and visually communicating data. Profesional de la Información. 31 (5), 2022.
https://doi.org/10.3145/epi.20....
35.
BELL M.L., DOMINICI F., SAMET J.M. A meta-analysis of time-series studies of ozone and mortality with comparison to the national morbidity, mortality, and air pollution study. Epidemiology. 16 (4), 436, 2005.
https://doi.org/10.1097/01.ede....
36.
RUPPERT K.M., KLINE R.J., RAHMAN M.S. Past, present, and future perspectives of environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding: A systematic review in methods, monitoring, and applications of global eDNA. Global Ecology and Conservation. 17, e00547, 2019.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecc....
37.
LIN W., DE K., ZHANG L., XIANG X., FENG T., QIAN S., WEI X., GENG X. Meta-analysis of the effects of nitrogen and phosphorus additions on carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus stoichiometric characteristics of soils in alpine meadows of Qinghai-Tibet. Acta Agrestia Sinica. 30 (12), 3345, 2022.
38.
ZHOU G., ZHOU X., HE Y., SHAO J., HU Z., LIU R., ZHOU H., HOSSEINIBAI S. Grazing intensity significantly affects belowground carbon and nitrogen cycling in grassland ecosystems: A meta-analysis. Global Change Biology. 23 (3), 1167, 2017.
https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13....
40.
WU Q., YUE K., WANG X., MA Y., LI Y. Differential responses of litter decomposition to warming, elevated CO2, and changed precipitation regime. Plant and Soil. 455, 155, 2020.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104....
41.
ZHANG X., ZHANG C.-P., YANG X.-X., LIU W.-T., YU Y., CAO Q., LIU Y.-Z., LI C.-D., GAO J., DONG Q.-M. Effects of biological soil crusts on soil nutrient and enzyme activities in grassland and desert ecosystems. Acta Agrestia Sinica. 31 (3), 632, 2023.
42.
UGOLINI D., BONASSI S., CRISTAUDO A., LEONCINI G., RATTO G.B., NERI M. Temporal trend, geographic distribution, and publication quality in asbestos research. Environmental Science and Pollution Research. 22, 6957, 2015.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356....
43.
WALTER G., BLOCH S., HUNT G., FISHER K. Counting on citations: a flawed way to measure quality. Medical Journal of Australia. 178 (6), 280, 2003.
https://doi.org/10.5694/j.1326....
44.
PAN W., ZHENG P., HUANG J. Research hotspot detection of health information based on the "DEAN" process of data clean. Journal of Modern Information. 38 (10), 73, 2018.
45.
OLAWUMI T.O., CHAN D.W. A scientometric review of global research on sustainability and sustainable development. Journal of Cleaner Production. 183, 231, 2018.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcle....
47.
NGUYEN N.H., SONG Z., BATES S.T., BRANCO S., TEDERSOO L., MENKE J., SCHILLING J.S., KENNEDY P.G. FUNGuild: an open annotation tool for parsing fungal community datasets by ecological guild. Fungal Ecology. 20, 241, 2016.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fune....
48.
MCCAHEY D. Historiography of the International Geophysical Year (1957-1958). In Handbook of the Historiography of the Earth and Environmental Sciences, Springer: pp.1, 2025.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-....
49.
MUNCK R. The Resistible Rise of Market Fundamentalism: Rethinking Development Policy in an Unbalanced World. Capital & Class. 35 (3), 491, 2011.
https://doi.org/10.1177/030981....
50.
LANGLEY C., PARKINSON S. The Political Economy of Military Science. In The Routledge Handbook of the Political Economy of Science, Routledge: pp.194, 2017.
https://doi.org/10.4324/978131....
51.
TAN B., YIN R., YANG W., ZHANG J., XU Z., LIU Y., HE S., ZHOU W., ZHANG L., LI H. Soil fauna show different degradation patterns of lignin and cellulose along an elevational gradient. Applied Soil Ecology. 155, 103673, 2020.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apso....
52.
WANG J., ZHANG A., ZHENG Y., SONG J., RU J., ZHENG M., HUI D., WAN S. Long‐term litter removal rather than litter addition enhances ecosystem carbon sequestration in a temperate steppe. Functional Ecology. 35 (12), 2799, 2021.
https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2....
53.
LIU C., LI W., XU J., ZHOU H., LI C., WANG W. Global trends and characteristics of ecological security research in the early 21st century: A literature review and bibliometric analysis. Ecological Indicators. 137, 108734, 2022.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecol....
54.
CHEN W., ZHOU H., WU Y., LI Y., QIAO L., WANG J., ZHAI J., SONG Y., ZHAO Z., ZHANG Z. Plant-mediated effects of long-term warming on soil microorganisms on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Catena. 204, 105391, 2021.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cate....
55.
WANG B., ZHANG Q., CUI F. Scientific research on ecosystem services and human well-being: A bibliometric analysis. Ecological Indicators. 125, 107449, 2021.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecol....
56.
KUCHARIK C.J., BRYE K.R., NORMAN J.M., FOLEY J.A., GOWER S.T., BUNDY L.G. Measurements and modeling of carbon and nitrogen cycling in agroecosystems of southern Wisconsin: potential for SOC sequestration during the next 50 years. Ecosystems. 4, 237, 2001.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021....
57.
YAN J., WANG L., HU Y., TSANG Y.F., ZHANG Y., WU J., FU X., SUN Y. Plant litter composition selects different soil microbial structures and in turn drives different litter decomposition pattern and soil carbon sequestration capability. Geoderma. 319, 194, 2018.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geod....
58.
LI S., WANG Z., YANG J. Changes in soil microbial communities during litter decomposition. Biodiversity Science. 24 (2), 195, 2016.
https://doi.org/10.17520/biods....
59.
GONG C., SONG C., ZHANG D., ZHANG J. Litter manipulation strongly affects CO2 emissions and temperature sensitivity in a temperate freshwater marsh of northeastern China. Ecological Indicators. 97, 410, 2019.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecol....
60.
LIU J., LIU X., SONG Q., COMPSON Z.G., LEROY C.J., LUAN F., WANG H., HU Y., YANG Q. Synergistic effects: a common theme in mixed‐species litter decomposition. New Phytologist. 227 (3), 757, 2020.
https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.16....
61.
LIU P., HUANG J., SUN O.J., HAN X. Litter decomposition and nutrient release as affected by soil nitrogen availability and litter quality in a semiarid grassland ecosystem. Oecologia. 162, 771, 2010.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442....
62.
LIN W., DE K., XIANG X., FENG T., LI F., WEI X. Effects of simulated litter inputs on plant-microbe carbon pool trade-offs in degraded alpine meadows. Frontiers in Plant Science. 16, 1549867, 2025.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2....
63.
CHEN C. CiteSpace II: Detecting and visualizing emerging trends and transient patterns in scientific literature. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology. 57 (3), 359, 2006.
https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.20....
64.
DAWOE E.K., ISAAC M.E., QUASHIE-SAM J. Litterfall and litter nutrient dynamics under cocoa ecosystems in lowland humid Ghana. Plant and Soil. 330, 55, 2010.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104....
66.
XUE F., LONG C., LIAO Q., XIONG L. An analysis of litter, soil, stoichiometry, and soil enzymes in karst forest. Journal of Forest and Environment. 40 (5), 449, 2020.
67.
ZHANG H., XIAO Y., LIU X., YAN J. Effects of litter treatments on CO2 emission at forest floor. Ecology and Environmental Sciences. 23 (3), 406, 2014.
68.
FANIN N., MOOSHAMMER M., SAUVADET M., MENG C., ALVAREZ G., BERNARD L., BERTRAND I., BLAGODATSKAYA E., BON L., FONTAINE S. Soil enzymes in response to climate warming: Mechanisms and feedbacks. Functional Ecology. 36 (6), 1378, 2022.
https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2....
69.
ALLISON S.D., VITOUSEK P.M. Extracellular enzyme activities and carbon chemistry as drivers of tropical plant litter decomposition. Biotropica. 36 (3), 285, 2004.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744....
70.
BHATTACHARYYA S.S., ROS G.H., FURTAK K., IQBAL H.M., PARRA-SALDÍVAR R. Soil carbon sequestration-An interplay between soil microbial community and soil organic matter dynamics. Science of the Total Environment. 815, 152928, 2022.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scit....
71.
GOUGOULIAS C., CLARK J.M., SHAW L.J. The role of soil microbes in the global carbon cycle: tracking the below‐ground microbial processing of plant‐derived carbon for manipulating carbon dynamics in agricultural systems. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture. 94 (12), 2362, 2014.
https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.6....
72.
XU S., LIU L., SAYER E.J. Variability of above-ground litter inputs alters soil physicochemical and biological processes: a meta-analysis of litterfall-manipulation experiments. Biogeosciences. 10 (11), 7423, 2013.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-....
73.
FONTAINE S., BAROT S., BARRÉ P., BDIOUI N., MARY B., RUMPEL C. Stability of organic carbon in deep soil layers controlled by fresh carbon supply. Nature. 450 (7167), 277, 2007.
https://doi.org/10.1038/nature....
74.
LI X., FENG J., ZHANG Q., ZHU B. Warming inhibits the priming effect of soil organic carbon mineralization: A meta-analysis. Science of the Total Environment. 904, 166170, 2023.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scit....
75.
CLEVELAND C.C., REED S.C., TOWNSEND A.R. Nutrient regulation of organic matter decomposition in a tropical rain forest. Ecology. 87 (2), 492, 2006.
https://doi.org/10.1890/05-052....
76.
DE SOUZA OLIVEIRA FILHO J., DE OLIVEIRA LOPES R., DE OLIVEIRA ARAÚJO M., MAGALHÃES M.S., DE SOUSA VASCONCELOS M.D., LIMA A.R.L., DE HOLANDA BASTOS F., PEREIRA M.G. How does increasing humidity in the environment affect soil carbon and nitrogen stocks and the C/N ratio in tropical drylands? Evidence from northeastern Brazil. Catena. 213, 106208, 2022.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cate....
77.
MORAIS T.G., TEIXEIRA R.F., DOMINGOS T. Detailed global modelling of soil organic carbon in cropland, grassland and forest soils. PLoS One. 14 (9), e0222604, 2019.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journa....
78.
LIANG C., VANDENBYGAART A., MACDONALD D., LIU K., CERKOWNIAK D. Change in soil organic carbon storage as influenced by forestland and grassland conversion to cropland in Canada. Geoderma Regional. 33, e00648, 2023.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geod....
79.
VELDKAMP E., SCHMIDT M., POWERS J.S., CORRE M.D. Deforestation and reforestation impacts on soils in the tropics. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment. 1 (11), 590, 2020.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017....
80.
FLOMBAUM P., SALA O.E. A non-destructive and rapid method to estimate biomass and aboveground net primary production in arid environments. Journal of Arid Environments. 69 (2), 352, 2007.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jari....
81.
MONGEON P., PAUL-HUS A. The journal coverage of Web of Science and Scopus: a comparative analysis. Scientometrics. 106 (1), 213, 2016.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192....
82.
SINGH V.K., SINGH P., KARMAKAR M., LETA J., MAYR P. The journal coverage of Web of Science, Scopus and Dimensions: A comparative analysis. Scientometrics. 126 (6), 5113, 2021.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192....
83.
AITCHISON L., CORRADI N., LATHAM P.E. Zipf's law arises naturally when there are underlying, unobserved variables. PLoS Computational Biology. 12 (12), e1005110, 2016.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journa....
84.
MAO B., MAO R., ZENG D.-H. Species diversity and chemical properties of litter influence non-additive effects of litter mixtures on soil carbon and nitrogen cycling. PLoS One. 12 (7), e0180422, 2017.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journa....
85.
LIU P., DING S., LIU N., MO Y., LIANG Y., MA J. Soil Microbial Community in Relation to Soil Organic Carbon and Labile Soil Organic Carbon Fractions under Detritus Treatments in a Subtropical Karst Region during the Rainy and Dry Seasons. Forests. 14 (12), 2291, 2023.
https://doi.org/10.3390/f14122....
86.
HE Y., LAN Y., ZHANG H., YE S. Research characteristics and hotspots of the relationship between soil microorganisms and vegetation: A bibliometric analysis. Ecological Indicators. 141, 109145, 2022.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecol....