First overview on the 4th Annex I Habitats Report in Italy: methods, criticality, results and future prospects

Like all the other EU/28 countries, in 2019 Italy developed the 4th Italian Report ex-Art. 17 on the conservation status of the Habitats of Annex I to the 92/43/EEC Directive. Institutional referent of the process, on behalf of the Ministry for Environment, Land and Sea Protection (MATTM), was the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA) with the scientific support of the Italian Botanical Society (SBI). A huge working group composed of thematic and territorial experts was formed with the task to collect, analyse, validate the data resulting from Annex I Habitat monitoring in Italy for the period 2013-2018, whose collection is in charge to the regional administrations. Data on 124 types of terrestrial and inland water Habitats present in Italy have been processed in order to assess their overall conservation status in the Biogeographic Regions of occurrence. The carried out activity led to the compilation of 278 assessment sheets. The work included a critical analysis of the data and a broad scientific confrontation aimed at finding methodologically robust solutions to fill the gaps. The work was structured so as to guarantee the traceability of the information and to allow the collection of "gray" literature and scientific articles, phytosociological surveys and unpublished material of the specialists, composing a substantial pool of data useful for starting a long-term process to support the next reporting cycles. Cartographic outcomes, associated databases and additional data used for the assessments will be available online on the ISPRA Portal as soon as the validation process by the European Commission will be completed. A freely accessible online archive of phytosociological surveys representative of the various Annex I Habitats in Italy is being set up within the national "VegItaly" database, managed by the Italian Society of Vegetation Science, by way of a dedicated archive named "HAB_IT". Such a long-term vision, oriented to the storage and enhancement of knowledge, represents an important innovative aspect and a significant progress towards the construction of an effective monitoring system for the conservation of Annex I Habitats in Italy

Effects of Climate and Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition on Early to Mid-Term Stage Litter Decomposition Across Biomes

open263siWe acknowledge support by the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, funded by the German Research Foundation (FZT 118), Scientific Grant Agency VEGA(GrantNo.2/0101/18), as well as by the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program (Grant Agreement No. 677232)Litter decomposition is a key process for carbon and nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems and is mainly controlled by environmental conditions, substrate quantity and quality as well as microbial community abundance and composition. In particular, the effects of climate and atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition on litter decomposition and its temporal dynamics are of significant importance, since their effects might change over the course of the decomposition process. Within the TeaComposition initiative, we incubated Green and Rooibos teas at 524 sites across nine biomes. We assessed how macroclimate and atmospheric inorganic N deposition under current and predicted scenarios (RCP 2.6, RCP 8.5) might affect litter mass loss measured after 3 and 12 months. Our study shows that the early to mid-term mass loss at the global scale was affected predominantly by litter quality (explaining 73% and 62% of the total variance after 3 and 12 months, respectively) followed by climate and N deposition. The effects of climate were not litter-specific and became increasingly significant as decomposition progressed, with MAP explaining 2% and MAT 4% of the variation after 12 months of incubation. The effect of N deposition was litter-specific, and significant only for 12-month decomposition of Rooibos tea at the global scale. However, in the temperate biome where atmospheric N deposition rates are relatively high, the 12-month mass loss of Green and Rooibos teas decreased significantly with increasing N deposition, explaining 9.5% and 1.1% of the variance, respectively. The expected changes in macroclimate and N deposition at the global scale by the end of this century are estimated to increase the 12-month mass loss of easily decomposable litter by 1.1-3.5% and of the more stable substrates by 3.8-10.6%, relative to current mass loss. In contrast, expected changes in atmospheric N deposition will decrease the mid-term mass loss of high-quality litter by 1.4-2.2% and that of low-quality litter by 0.9-1.5% in the temperate biome. Our results suggest that projected increases in N deposition may have the capacity to dampen the climate-driven increases in litter decomposition depending on the biome and decomposition stage of substrate.openKwon T.; Shibata H.; Kepfer-Rojas S.; Schmidt I.K.; Larsen K.S.; Beier C.; Berg B.; Verheyen K.; Lamarque J.-F.; Hagedorn F.; Eisenhauer N.; Djukic I.; Caliman A.; Paquette A.; Gutierrez-Giron A.; Petraglia A.; Augustaitis A.; Saillard A.; Ruiz-Fernandez A.C.; Sousa A.I.; Lillebo A.I.; Da Rocha Gripp A.; Lamprecht A.; Bohner A.; Francez A.-J.; Malyshev A.; Andric A.; Stanisci A.; Zolles A.; Avila A.; Virkkala A.-M.; Probst A.; Ouin A.; Khuroo A.A.; Verstraeten A.; Stefanski A.; Gaxiola A.; Muys B.; Gozalo B.; Ahrends B.; Yang B.; Erschbamer B.; Rodriguez Ortiz C.E.; Christiansen C.T.; Meredieu C.; Mony C.; Nock C.; Wang C.-P.; Baum C.; Rixen C.; Delire C.; Piscart C.; Andrews C.; Rebmann C.; Branquinho C.; Jan D.; Wundram D.; Vujanovic D.; Adair E.C.; Ordonez-Regil E.; Crawford E.R.; Tropina E.F.; Hornung E.; Groner E.; Lucot E.; Gacia E.; Levesque E.; Benedito E.; Davydov E.A.; Bolzan F.P.; Maestre F.T.; Maunoury-Danger F.; Kitz F.; Hofhansl F.; Hofhansl G.; De Almeida Lobo F.; Souza F.L.; Zehetner F.; Koffi F.K.; Wohlfahrt G.; Certini G.; Pinha G.D.; Gonzlez G.; Canut G.; Pauli H.; Bahamonde H.A.; Feldhaar H.; Jger H.; Serrano H.C.; Verheyden H.; Bruelheide H.; Meesenburg H.; Jungkunst H.; Jactel H.; Kurokawa H.; Yesilonis I.; Melece I.; Van Halder I.; Quiros I.G.; Fekete I.; Ostonen I.; Borovsk J.; Roales J.; Shoqeir J.H.; Jean-Christophe Lata J.; Probst J.-L.; Vijayanathan J.; Dolezal J.; Sanchez-Cabeza J.-A.; Merlet J.; Loehr J.; Von Oppen J.; Loffler J.; Benito Alonso J.L.; Cardoso-Mohedano J.-G.; Penuelas J.; Morina J.C.; Quinde J.D.; Jimnez J.J.; Alatalo J.M.; Seeber J.; Kemppinen J.; Stadler J.; Kriiska K.; Van Den Meersche K.; Fukuzawa K.; Szlavecz K.; Juhos K.; Gerhtov K.; Lajtha K.; Jennings K.; Jennings J.; Ecology P.; Hoshizaki K.; Green K.; Steinbauer K.; Pazianoto L.; Dienstbach L.; Yahdjian L.; Williams L.J.; Brigham L.; Hanna L.; Hanna H.; Rustad L.; Morillas L.; Silva Carneiro L.; Di Martino L.; Villar L.; Fernandes Tavares L.A.; Morley M.; Winkler M.; Lebouvier M.; Tomaselli M.; Schaub M.; Glushkova M.; Torres M.G.A.; De Graaff M.-A.; Pons M.-N.; Bauters M.; Mazn M.; Frenzel M.; Wagner M.; Didion M.; Hamid M.; Lopes M.; Apple M.; Weih M.; Mojses M.; Gualmini M.; Vadeboncoeur M.; Bierbaumer M.; Danger M.; Scherer-Lorenzen M.; Ruek M.; Isabellon M.; Di Musciano M.; Carbognani M.; Zhiyanski M.; Puca M.; Barna M.; Ataka M.; Luoto M.; H. Alsafaran M.; Barsoum N.; Tokuchi N.; Korboulewsky N.; Lecomte N.; Filippova N.; Hlzel N.; Ferlian O.; Romero O.; Pinto-Jr O.; Peri P.; Dan Turtureanu P.; Haase P.; Macreadie P.; Reich P.B.; Petk P.; Choler P.; Marmonier P.; Ponette Q.; Dettogni Guariento R.; Canessa R.; Kiese R.; Hewitt R.; Weigel R.; Kanka R.; Cazzolla Gatti R.; Martins R.L.; Ogaya R.; Georges R.; Gaviln R.G.; Wittlinger S.; Puijalon S.; Suzuki S.; Martin S.; Anja S.; Gogo S.; Schueler S.; Drollinger S.; Mereu S.; Wipf S.; Trevathan-Tackett S.; Stoll S.; Lfgren S.; Trogisch S.; Seitz S.; Glatzel S.; Venn S.; Dousset S.; Mori T.; Sato T.; Hishi T.; Nakaji T.; Jean-Paul T.; Camboulive T.; Spiegelberger T.; Scholten T.; Mozdzer T.J.; Kleinebecker T.; Runk T.; Ramaswiela T.; Hiura T.; Enoki T.; Ursu T.-M.; Di Cella U.M.; Hamer U.; Klaus V.; Di Cecco V.; Rego V.; Fontana V.; Piscov V.; Bretagnolle V.; Maire V.; Farjalla V.; Pascal V.; Zhou W.; Luo W.; Parker W.; Parker P.; Kominam Y.; Kotrocz Z.; Utsumi Y.Kwon T.; Shibata H.; Kepfer-Rojas S.; Schmidt I.K.; Larsen K.S.; Beier C.; Berg B.; Verheyen K.; Lamarque J.-F.; Hagedorn F.; Eisenhauer N.; Djukic I.; Caliman A.; Paquette A.; Gutierrez-Giron A.; Petraglia A.; Augustaitis A.; Saillard A.; Ruiz-Fernandez A.C.; Sousa A.I.; Lillebo A.I.; Da Rocha Gripp A.; Lamprecht A.; Bohner A.; Francez A.-J.; Malyshev A.; Andric A.; Stanisci A.; Zolles A.; Avila A.; Virkkala A.-M.; Probst A.; Ouin A.; Khuroo A.A.; Verstraeten A.; Stefanski A.; Gaxiola A.; Muys B.; Gozalo B.; Ahrends B.; Yang B.; Erschbamer B.; Rodriguez Ortiz C.E.; Christiansen C.T.; Meredieu C.; Mony C.; Nock C.; Wang C.-P.; Baum C.; Rixen C.; Delire C.; Piscart C.; Andrews C.; Rebmann C.; Branquinho C.; Jan D.; Wundram D.; Vujanovic D.; Adair E.C.; Ordonez-Regil E.; Crawford E.R.; Tropina E.F.; Hornung E.; Groner E.; Lucot E.; Gacia E.; Levesque E.; Benedito E.; Davydov E.A.; Bolzan F.P.; Maestre F.T.; Maunoury-Danger F.; Kitz F.; Hofhansl F.; Hofhansl G.; De Almeida Lobo F.; Souza F.L.; Zehetner F.; Koffi F.K.; Wohlfahrt G.; Certini G.; Pinha G.D.; Gonzlez G.; Canut G.; Pauli H.; Bahamonde H.A.; Feldhaar H.; Jger H.; Serrano H.C.; Verheyden H.; Bruelheide H.; Meesenburg H.; Jungkunst H.; Jactel H.; Kurokawa H.; Yesilonis I.; Melece I.; Van Halder I.; Quiros I.G.; Fekete I.; Ostonen I.; Borovsk J.; Roales J.; Shoqeir J.H.; Jean-Christophe Lata J.; Probst J.-L.; Vijayanathan J.; Dolezal J.; Sanchez-Cabeza J.-A.; Merlet J.; Loehr J.; Von Oppen J.; Loffler J.; Benito Alonso J.L.; Cardoso-Mohedano J.-G.; Penuelas J.; Morina J.C.; Quinde J.D.; Jimnez J.J.; Alatalo J.M.; Seeber J.; Kemppinen J.; Stadler J.; Kriiska K.; Van Den Meersche K.; Fukuzawa K.; Szlavecz K.; Juhos K.; Gerhtov K.; Lajtha K.; Jennings K.; Jennings J.; Ecology P.; Hoshizaki K.; Green K.; Steinbauer K.; Pazianoto L.; Dienstbach L.; Yahdjian L.; Williams L.J.; Brigham L.; Hanna L.; Hanna H.; Rustad L.; Morillas L.; Silva Carneiro L.; Di Martino L.; Villar L.; Fernandes Tavares L.A.; Morley M.; Winkler M.; Lebouvier M.; Tomaselli M.; Schaub M.; Glushkova M.; Torres M.G.A.; De Graaff M.-A.; Pons M.-N.; Bauters M.; Mazn M.; Frenzel M.; Wagner M.; Didion M.; Hamid M.; Lopes M.; Apple M.; Weih M.; Mojses M.; Gualmini M.; Vadeboncoeur M.; Bierbaumer M.; Danger M.; Scherer-Lorenzen M.; Ruek M.; Isabellon M.; Di Musciano M.; Carbognani M.; Zhiyanski M.; Puca M.; Barna M.; Ataka M.; Luoto M.; H. Alsafaran M.; Barsoum N.; Tokuchi N.; Korboulewsky N.; Lecomte N.; Filippova N.; Hlzel N.; Ferlian O.; Romero O.; Pinto-Jr O.; Peri P.; Dan Turtureanu P.; Haase P.; Macreadie P.; Reich P.B.; Petk P.; Choler P.; Marmonier P.; Ponette Q.; Dettogni Guariento R.; Canessa R.; Kiese R.; Hewitt R.; Weigel R.; Kanka R.; Cazzolla Gatti R.; Martins R.L.; Ogaya R.; Georges R.; Gaviln R.G.; Wittlinger S.; Puijalon S.; Suzuki S.; Martin S.; Anja S.; Gogo S.; Schueler S.; Drollinger S.; Mereu S.; Wipf S.; Trevathan-Tackett S.; Stoll S.; Lfgren S.; Trogisch S.; Seitz S.; Glatzel S.; Venn S.; Dousset S.; Mori T.; Sato T.; Hishi T.; Nakaji T.; Jean-Paul T.; Camboulive T.; Spiegelberger T.; Scholten T.; Mozdzer T.J.; Kleinebecker T.; Runk T.; Ramaswiela T.; Hiura T.; Enoki T.; Ursu T.-M.; Di Cella U.M.; Hamer U.; Klaus V.; Di Cecco V.; Rego V.; Fontana V.; Piscov V.; Bretagnolle V.; Maire V.; Farjalla V.; Pascal V.; Zhou W.; Luo W.; Parker W.; Parker P.; Kominam Y.; Kotrocz Z.; Utsumi Y

Global maps of soil temperature

Research in global change ecology relies heavily on global climatic grids derived from estimates of air temperature in open areas at around 2 m above the ground. These climatic grids do not reflect conditions below vegetation canopies and near the ground surface, where critical ecosystem functions occur and most terrestrial species reside. Here, we provide global maps of soil temperature and bioclimatic variables at a 1-km² resolution for 0–5 and 5–15 cm soil depth. These maps were created by calculating the difference (i.e., offset) between in-situ soil temperature measurements, based on time series from over 1200 1-km² pixels (summarized from 8500 unique temperature sensors) across all the world’s major terrestrial biomes, and coarse-grained air temperature estimates from ERA5-Land (an atmospheric reanalysis by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts). We show that mean annual soil temperature differs markedly from the corresponding gridded air temperature, by up to 10°C (mean = 3.0 ± 2.1°C), with substantial variation across biomes and seasons. Over the year, soils in cold and/or dry biomes are substantially warmer (+3.6 ± 2.3°C) than gridded air temperature, whereas soils in warm and humid environments are on average slightly cooler (-0.7 ± 2.3°C). The observed substantial and biome-specific offsets emphasize that the projected impacts of climate and climate change on near-surface biodiversity and ecosystem functioning are inaccurately assessed when air rather than soil temperature is used, especially in cold environments. The global soil-related bioclimatic variables provided here are an important step forward for any application in ecology and related disciplines. Nevertheless, we highlight the need to fill remaining geographic gaps by collecting more in-situ measurements of microclimate conditions to further enhance the spatiotemporal resolution of global soil temperature products for ecological applications

Global maps of soil temperature

Research in global change ecology relies heavily on global climatic grids derived from estimates of air temperature in open areas at around 2 m above the ground. These climatic grids do not reflect conditions below vegetation canopies and near the ground surface, where critical ecosystem functions occur and most terrestrial species reside. Here, we provide global maps of soil temperature and bioclimatic variables at a 1-km2 resolution for 0\u20135 and 5\u201315 cm soil depth. These maps were created by calculating the difference (i.e. offset) between in situ soil temperature measurements, based on time series from over 1200 1-km2 pixels (summarized from 8519 unique temperature sensors) across all the world's major terrestrial biomes, and coarse-grained air temperature estimates from ERA5-Land (an atmospheric reanalysis by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts). We show that mean annual soil temperature differs markedly from the corresponding gridded air temperature, by up to 10\ub0C (mean = 3.0 \ub1 2.1\ub0C), with substantial variation across biomes and seasons. Over the year, soils in cold and/or dry biomes are substantially warmer (+3.6 \ub1 2.3\ub0C) than gridded air temperature, whereas soils in warm and humid environments are on average slightly cooler ( 120.7 \ub1 2.3\ub0C). The observed substantial and biome-specific offsets emphasize that the projected impacts of climate and climate change on near-surface biodiversity and ecosystem functioning are inaccurately assessed when air rather than soil temperature is used, especially in cold environments. The global soil-related bioclimatic variables provided here are an important step forward for any application in ecology and related disciplines. Nevertheless, we highlight the need to fill remaining geographic gaps by collecting more in situ measurements of microclimate conditions to further enhance the spatiotemporal resolution of global soil temperature products for ecological applications

Global maps of soil temperature.

Research in global change ecology relies heavily on global climatic grids derived from estimates of air temperature in open areas at around 2 m above the ground. These climatic grids do not reflect conditions below vegetation canopies and near the ground surface, where critical ecosystem functions occur and most terrestrial species reside. Here, we provide global maps of soil temperature and bioclimatic variables at a 1-km <sup>2</sup> resolution for 0-5 and 5-15 cm soil depth. These maps were created by calculating the difference (i.e. offset) between in situ soil temperature measurements, based on time series from over 1200 1-km <sup>2</sup> pixels (summarized from 8519 unique temperature sensors) across all the world's major terrestrial biomes, and coarse-grained air temperature estimates from ERA5-Land (an atmospheric reanalysis by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts). We show that mean annual soil temperature differs markedly from the corresponding gridded air temperature, by up to 10°C (mean = 3.0 ± 2.1°C), with substantial variation across biomes and seasons. Over the year, soils in cold and/or dry biomes are substantially warmer (+3.6 ± 2.3°C) than gridded air temperature, whereas soils in warm and humid environments are on average slightly cooler (-0.7 ± 2.3°C). The observed substantial and biome-specific offsets emphasize that the projected impacts of climate and climate change on near-surface biodiversity and ecosystem functioning are inaccurately assessed when air rather than soil temperature is used, especially in cold environments. The global soil-related bioclimatic variables provided here are an important step forward for any application in ecology and related disciplines. Nevertheless, we highlight the need to fill remaining geographic gaps by collecting more in situ measurements of microclimate conditions to further enhance the spatiotemporal resolution of global soil temperature products for ecological applications

Global maps of soil temperature

Research in global change ecology relies heavily on global climatic grids derived from estimates of air temperature in open areas at around 2 m above the ground. These climatic grids do not reflect conditions below vegetation canopies and near the ground surface, where critical ecosystem functions occur and most terrestrial species reside. Here, we provide global maps of soil temperature and bioclimatic variables at a 1-km2 resolution for 0–5 and 5–15 cm soil depth. These maps were created by calculating the difference (i.e. offset) between in situ soil temperature measurements, based on time series from over 1200 1-km2 pixels (summarized from 8519 unique temperature sensors) across all the world\u27s major terrestrial biomes, and coarse-grained air temperature estimates from ERA5-Land (an atmospheric reanalysis by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts). We show that mean annual soil temperature differs markedly from the corresponding gridded air temperature, by up to 10°C (mean = 3.0 ± 2.1°C), with substantial variation across biomes and seasons. Over the year, soils in cold and/or dry biomes are substantially warmer (+3.6 ± 2.3°C) than gridded air temperature, whereas soils in warm and humid environments are on average slightly cooler (−0.7 ± 2.3°C). The observed substantial and biome-specific offsets emphasize that the projected impacts of climate and climate change on near-surface biodiversity and ecosystem functioning are inaccurately assessed when air rather than soil temperature is used, especially in cold environments. The global soil-related bioclimatic variables provided here are an important step forward for any application in ecology and related disciplines. Nevertheless, we highlight the need to fill remaining geographic gaps by collecting more in situ measurements of microclimate conditions to further enhance the spatiotemporal resolution of global soil temperature products for ecological applications

Global maps of soil temperature

Research in global change ecology relies heavily on global climatic grids derived from estimates of air temperature in open areas at around 2 m above the ground. These climatic grids do not reflect conditions below vegetation canopies and near the ground surface, where critical ecosystem functions occur and most terrestrial species reside. Here, we provide global maps of soil temperature and bioclimatic variables at a 1-km² resolution for 0–5 and 5–15 cm soil depth. These maps were created by calculating the difference (i.e., offset) between in-situ soil temperature measurements, based on time series from over 1200 1-km² pixels (summarized from 8500 unique temperature sensors) across all the world’s major terrestrial biomes, and coarse-grained air temperature estimates from ERA5-Land (an atmospheric reanalysis by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts). We show that mean annual soil temperature differs markedly from the corresponding gridded air temperature, by up to 10°C (mean = 3.0 ± 2.1°C), with substantial variation across biomes and seasons. Over the year, soils in cold and/or dry biomes are substantially warmer (+3.6 ± 2.3°C) than gridded air temperature, whereas soils in warm and humid environments are on average slightly cooler (-0.7 ± 2.3°C). The observed substantial and biome-specific offsets emphasize that the projected impacts of climate and climate change on near-surface biodiversity and ecosystem functioning are inaccurately assessed when air rather than soil temperature is used, especially in cold environments. The global soil-related bioclimatic variables provided here are an important step forward for any application in ecology and related disciplines. Nevertheless, we highlight the need to fill remaining geographic gaps by collecting more in-situ measurements of microclimate conditions to further enhance the spatiotemporal resolution of global soil temperature products for ecological applications

Plant–environment interactions through a functional traits perspective: a review of Italian studies

Italy is among the European countries with the greatest plant diversity due to both a great environmental heterogeneity and a long history of man–environment interactions. Trait-based approaches to ecological studies have developed greatly over recent decades worldwide, although several issues concerning the relationships between plant functional traits and the environment still lack sufficient empirical evaluation. To draw insights on the association between plant functional traits and direct and indirect human and natural pressures on the environmental drivers, this article summarizes the existing knowledge on this topic by reviewing the results of studies performed in Italy adopting a functional trait approach on vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens. Although we recorded trait measurements for 1418 taxa, our review highlighted some major gaps in plant traits knowledge: Mediterranean ecosystems are poorly represented; traits related to belowground organs are still overlooked; traits measurements for bryophytes and lichens are lacking. Finally, intraspecific variation has been little studied at community level so far. We conclude by highlighting the need for approaches evaluating trait–environment relationship at large spatial and temporal scales and the need of a more effective contribution to online databases to tie more firmly Italian researchers to international scientific networks on plant traits

Effects of climate and atmospheric nitrogen deposition on early to mid-term stage litter decomposition across biomes

Litter decomposition is a key process for carbon and nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems and is mainly controlled by environmental conditions, substrate quantity and quality as well as microbial community abundance and composition. In particular, the effects of climate and atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition on litter decomposition and its temporal dynamics are of significant importance, since their effects might change over the course of the decomposition process. Within the TeaComposition initiative, we incubated Green and Rooibos teas at 524 sites across nine biomes. We assessed how macroclimate and atmospheric inorganic N deposition under current and predicted scenarios (RCP 2.6, RCP 8.5) might affect litter mass loss measured after 3 and 12 months. Our study shows that the early to mid-term mass loss at the global scale was affected predominantly by litter quality (explaining 73% and 62% of the total variance after 3 and 12 months, respectively) followed by climate and N deposition. The effects of climate were not litter-specific and became increasingly significant as decomposition progressed, with MAP explaining 2% and MAT 4% of the variation after 12 months of incubation. The effect of N deposition was litter-specific, and significant only for 12-month decomposition of Rooibos tea at the global scale. However, in the temperate biome where atmospheric N deposition rates are relatively high, the 12-month mass loss of Green and Rooibos teas decreased significantly with increasing N deposition, explaining 9.5% and 1.1% of the variance, respectively. The expected changes in macroclimate and N deposition at the global scale by the end of this century are estimated to increase the 12-month mass loss of easily decomposable litter by 1.1-3.5% and of the more stable substrates by 3.8-10.6%, relative to current mass loss. In contrast, expected changes in atmospheric N deposition will decrease the mid-term mass loss of high-quality litter by 1.4-2.2% and that of low-quality litter by 0.9-1.5% in the temperate biome. Our results suggest that projected increases in N deposition may have the capacity to dampen the climate-driven increases in litter decomposition depending on the biome and decomposition stage of substrate. © Copyright © 2021 Kwon, Shibata, Kepfer-Rojas, Schmidt, Larsen, Beier, Berg, Verheyen, Lamarque, Hagedorn, Eisenhauer, Djukic and TeaComposition Network