Soil pH
Soil pH shows a negative relationship with invertebrate effects on forest litter decomposition. Microbiota within water films, were clearly the most sensitive to soil pH (Tao et al. 2019). Tropical soils are usually acidic due to high leaching intensity driven by high precipitation (Zhang et al. 2019), with pH levels ranging from 3.8 to 6.2 in our meta-data. In the tropics, litter-feeders with high acidity tolerance, such as termites, can reach high abundance levels and so have a competitive advantage over microorganisms, especially bacteria (Lavelle et al. 1995). Reduced vegetation cover caused by deforestation leads to soil acidification as lack of organic matter and root systems lead to loss of soil nutrients (Birhanu et al.2016). Increased land-use intensity with concomitant loss of tree cover, therefore, threatens soil biodiversity not only through habitat loss but also by changing soil properties by acidification. This negative effect may undermine the ecological functions of both microbial and faunal decomposers, while some highly adapted invertebrates, such as invasive earthworms and termites, may be responsible for more litter decomposition in disturbed areas (Liu & Zou 2002; Huang et al.2020).