| Summary: | Home-field advantage (HFA) encompasses all the processes leading to faster litter decomposition in the ‘home’ environment compared to that of ‘away’ environments. To determine the occurrence of HFA in a forest and adjacent clear-cut, we set up a reciprocal litter decomposition experiment within the forest and clear-cut for two soil types (Cambisols and Gleysols) in temperate Germany. The forest was dominated by Norway spruce (<i>Picea abies</i>), whereas forest regeneration of European Beech (<i>Fagus sylvatica</i>) after clearcutting was encouraged. Our observation that Norway spruce decomposed faster than European beech in 70-yr-old spruce forest was most likely related to specialized litter-soil interaction under existing spruce, leading to an HFA. Elevated soil moisture and temperature, and promoted litter N release, indicated the rapid change of soil-litter affinity of the original spruce forest even after a short-term regeneration following clearcutting, resulting in faster beech decomposition, particularly in moisture- and nutrient-deficient Cambisols. The divergence between forest and clear-cut in the Cambisol of their litter δ<sup>15</sup>N values beyond nine months implied litter N decomposition was only initially independent of soil and residual C status. We conclude that clearcutting modifies the litter-field affinity and helps promote the establishment or regeneration of European beech in this and similar forest mountain upland areas.
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