Biotic and climatic controls on the interannual variation in canopy litterfall of a deciduous broad-leaved forest

l Interannual variation in total (7.3%) and leaf (5.6%) litterfall was lower than that in basal area increment (21.0%). l High temporal stability of litterfall was related to its high species richness. l There were significant climate legacy effects in all components of the litterfall. l The most important factor for total litterfall variability was climate legacy effect. l The most important factors for leaf litterfall variability were basal area and species richness. Canopy litterfall is an important component of net primary productivity (NPP) in forests, but the climatic and biotic controls on its interannual fluctuation remain poorly understood. In this study, we quantified the interannual variation in and the influencing factors of the canopy litterfall with 45 litter traps in nine plots for 12 years (2008 − 2019) in a temperate deciduous broad-leaved forest in Northeast China. The coefficients of interannual variation in the total (7.3%) and leaf (5.6%) litterfall were substantially lower than those in the basal area (BA) increment (21.0%) and gross primary productivity (10.2%). Climatic (i.e., air temperature, thermal time, precipitation, and radiation) and biotic (i.e., BA and species richness) factors jointly controlled the annual production of litterfall for individual plots and species. Significant climate legacy effects were detected in all components of the litterfall, with the strongest in woody tissue component that contributed to 58.9% of the total litterfall variability. The most important factor driving the variability of the total litterfall and its non-leaf components was climate legacy effect (67.2% to 86.6%), while those for the leaf litterfall were BA (40.4%) and species richness (38.3%). We conclude that high species richness of the deciduous forest increases the temporal stability of canopy productivity, and leaf productivity is much more stable than wood productivity as indicated by BA increament. These findings provide insight into spatiotemporal dynamics in the litterfall and canopy NPP in temperate deciduous forests.