CONCLUSION
We have demonstrated conclusively that soil invertebrates are important components of global forest leaf litter decomposition, especially in the tropics, from both biogeographical and ecological perspectives. Termites in particular are major decomposers mediating the regional variation in animal-driven decomposition. Soil invertebrates are experiencing remarkable diversity loss and functional changes driven by multiple disturbances including climate change, habitat loss and environmental pollution (Cifuentes-Croquevielle et al. 2020). Potentially, this loss will decrease the release of carbon and plant-available nutrients from dead organic matter significantly with cascading effects on plant nutrient uptake and soil health (Handaet al. 2014; Griffiths et al. 2021a). Future climate change and other human disturbance has the potential to reshape the relative contributions of soil invertebrates and microbes in global litter decomposition with unknown but undoubtedly serious consequences.