Abstract: Forest litter decomposition is a key link of the material circulation and energy flow in forest ecosystem, while microorganism plays a crucial role in the process of this decomposition. This paper systematically described the process of forest litter’s microbial decomposition and its ecological significance, and summarized the research advance about this microbial decomposition from the aspects of microbial diversity, microbial quantitative dynamics and community succession, key affecting factors, and enzymology of microbial decomposition. The future research directions were also discussed.

Key words: Farmyard manure, Fertilization, Shaanxi Province