No 'home' versus 'away' effects of decomposition found in a grassland-forest reciprocal litter transplant study

► Understanding decomposition is critically important for modeling climate change. ► Soil organisms are rarely considered in our understanding of decomposition. ► We test if pre-adaptation of soil organisms improves litter decomposition (HFA). ► Habitat-organism interaction may have been responsible for a negative HFA. ► Bacteria, fungi and mite data suggest ways to improve decomposition modeling.