Warming and ozone exposure effects on silver birch (Betula pendula Roth) leaf litter quality, microbial growth and decomposition

Background and aims Climate warming is expected to accelerate decomposition in boreal forests, but the concomitant effects of tropospheric ozone (O3), a phytotoxic greenhouse gas, alone and in combination with warming, are poorly understood. We studied how these two climatic factors affect leaf litter decomposition of two silver birch genotypes.