Abstract:Taking the litter of Castanopsis carlesii foliar, a constructive species of subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest, as the research object, compared with the forest surface environment, a field study was conducted to understand the content changes and loss characteristics of water-soluble organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus during the decomposition of C. carlesii foliar litter in streams and intermittent streams. The results showed that: (1) In the three habitats, the water-soluble organic carbon of litter decreased continuously in the decomposition process, but the most loss was detected in the streams with a loss property of 92.18%. In contrast, the release time of water-soluble nitrogen in streams and intermittent streams were earlier and the changes were relatively small. Compared with the forest floor and intermittent streams, the content of water-soluble phosphorus in litter decreased continuously in streams with the loss ratio of 86.75% during the whole decomposition process. (2) Compared with the forest floor, both streams and intermittent streams significantly promoted the release rates of water-soluble organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in litter, indicating that the continuous water flow could promote the release of water-soluble components during litter decomposition. (3) Although the loss rate of water-soluble organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in litter were jointly affected by temperature, precipitation and the content of nutrient elements in the three habitats, the continuous water flow in head water streams and the frequent alternation of dry/wet in intermittent streams promoted the release of water-soluble components in the litter. The results provide some basic data for revealing the decomposition dynamics of water-soluble components in the litter of different habitats in subtropical mountain forests.