Above- and below-ground plant inputs both fuel soil food webs

► We study the effects of live plants, shoot and root litter input on decomposer performance. ► Species identity of shoot litter input had greatest effect on decomposers. ► Oribatida density was significantly affected by a three-way interaction between plant, shoot and root litter identity. ► Above- (AG) and belowground (BG) plant inputs into soil determine the performance of decomposers. ► We suggest the consideration of both AG and BG plant inputs fueling soil food webs in future experiments.