Leaf litter decay rates of arbuscular mycorrhizal and ectomycorrhizal-associated trees across temperate forests are shown in Figure 1a. Arbuscular mycorrhizal tree species, with a sample size of 105 observations, had leaf litter decay rates approximately double that of ectomycorrhizal tree species, with a sample size of 242 observations. In contrast, in Figure 1b, which shows these groups in sub/tropical forests, there was no significant difference in leaf litter decomposition rates between arbuscular and ectomycorrhizal groups (sample sizes of 89 and 18, respectively).