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Decomposition processes of leaf litter were observed during one year with same kinds of substrates at a warm-temperate evergreen oak forest in Japan and a tropical rain forest in Sumatra simultaneously. A warm-temperate forest showed high rates of carbon-weight loss in summer. A tropical rain forest had high rates at the initial stages in particular and apparently low rates during the severe dry weather in early 1997. When time trends of carbon-weight loss could be approximated by a single exponential curve for each leaf litter, the average values of decomposition factor of five Japanese fagaceous leaf litter were 0.70±0.13 y-1 at a warm-temperate forest and 1.62±0.24 y-1 at a tropical rain forest, respectively. The C/N ratios of litter gradually decreased with the progress of decomposition at the initial stages, then tended to be constant at about C/N =20 at the last stages irrespective of kinds of leaf litter and study sites. Basing on these results we discussed characteristics of decomposition at these two forest ecosystems.
Chairul et al. (Tue,) studied this question.