Appendix S1 Bibliographic information for the 36 studies used in the metaanalysis (Table 1 in main article). Alban D.H. & Pastor J. (1993) Decomposition of aspen, spruce, and pine boles on 2 Sites in Minnesota. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 23, 1744-1749 Brais S., Paré D. & Lierman C. (2006) Tree bole mineralization rates of four species of the Canadian eastern boreal forest: implication for nutrient dynamics following standreplacing disturbances. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 36, 2331-2340 Brown P.M., Shepperd W.D., Mata S.A. & McClain D.L. (1998) Longevity of windthrown logs in a subalpine forest of central Colorado. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 28, 932-936 Brown S., Mo J.M., McPherson J.K. & Bell D.T. (1996) Decomposition of woody debris in Western Australian forests. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 26, 954-966 Cotrufo M.F. & Ineson P. (2000) Does elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations affect wood decomposition? Plant and Soil, 224, 51-57 Devries B.W.L. & Kuyper T.W. (1988) Effect of vegetation type on decomposition rates of wood in Drenthe, the Netherlands. Acta Botanica Neerlandica, 37, 307-312 Eaton J.M. & Lawrence D. (2006) Woody debris stocks and fluxes during succession in a dry tropical forest. Forest Ecology and Management, 232, 46-55 Edmonds R.L. (1987) Decomposition rates and nutrient dynamics in small-diameter woody litter in 4 forest ecosystems in Washington, USA. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 17, 499-509 Edmonds R.L., Vogt D.J., Sandberg D.H. & Driver C.H. (1986) Decomposition of Douglas-fir and red alder wood in clear-cuttings. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 16, 822831 Erickson H.E., Edmonds R.L. & Peterson C.E. (1985) Decomposition of logging residues in Douglas-fir, western hemlock, Pacific silver fir, and ponderosa pine ecosystems. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 15, 914-921 Foster J.R. & Lang G.E. (1982) Decomposition of red spruce and balsam fir boles in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 12, 617626 Frangi J.L., Richter L.L., Barrera M.D. & Aloggia M. (1997) Decomposition of Nothofagus fallen woody debris in forests of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 27, 1095-1102 Gosz J.R., Likens G.E. & Bormann F.H. (1973) Nutrient release from decomposing leaf and branch litter in Hubbard Brook forest, New Hampshire. Ecological Monographs, 43, 173-191 Graham R.L. & Cromack K. (1982) Mass, nutrient content, and decay rate of dead boles in rain forests of Olympic National Park. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 12, 511521 Harmon M.E., Fasth B. & Sexton J. (2005) Bole decomposition rates of seventeen tree species in western USA. In. USDA USFS, Washington, DC Harmon M.E., Krankina O.N. & Sexton J. (2000) Decomposition vectors: a new approach to estimating woody detritus decomposition dynamics. Canadian Journal of Forest Research-Revue Canadienne De Recherche Forestiere, 30, 76-84 Harmon M.E., Whigham D.F., Sexton J. & Olmsted I. (1995) Decomposition and mass of woody detritus in the dry tropical forests of the northeastern Yucatan peninsula, Mexico. Biotropica, 27, 305-316 Janisch J.E., Harmon M.E., Chen H., Fasth B. & Sexton J. (2005) Decomposition of coarse woody debris originating by clearcutting of an old-growth conifer forest. Ecoscience, 12, 151-160 Johnson E.A. & Greene D.F. (1991) A Method for Studying Dead Bole Dynamics in PinusContorta Var Latifolia - Picea-Engelmannii Forests. Journal of Vegetation Science, 2, 523-530 Krankina O.N. & Harmon M.E. (1995) Dynamics of the dead wood carbon pool in northwestern Russian boreal forests. Water Air and Soil Pollution, 82, 227-238 Kueppers L.M., Southon J., Baer P. & Harte J. (2004) Dead wood biomass and turnover time, measured by radiocarbon, along a subalpine elevation gradient. Oecologia, 141, 641651 Laiho R. & Prescott C.E. (1999) The contribution of coarse woody debris to carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycles in three Rocky Mountain coniferous forests. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 29, 1592-1603 Mackensen J. & Bauhus J. (2003) Density loss and respiration rates in coarse woody debris of Pinus radiata, Eucalyptus regnans and Eucalyptus maculata. Soil Biology & Biochemistry, 35, 177-186 Macmillan P.C. (1988) Decomposition of Coarse Woody Debris in an Old-Growth Indiana Forest. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 18, 1353-1362 Mattson K.G., Swank W.T. & Waide J.B. (1987) Decomposition of woody debris in a regenerating, clear-cut forest in the Southern Appalachians. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 17, 712-721 Mukhin V.A. & Voronin P.Y. (2007) Mycogenic decomposition of wood and carbon emission in forest ecosystems. Russian Journal of Ecology, 38, 22-26 O’Connell A.M. (1997) Decomposition of slash residues in thinned regrowth eucalypt forest in Western Australia. Journal of Applied Ecology, 34, 111-122 Romero L.M., Smith T.J. & Fourqurean J.W. (2005) Changes in mass and nutrient content of wood during decomposition in a south Florida mangrove forest. Journal of Ecology, 93, 618-631 Rosswall T., Veum A.K. & Karenlampi L. (1975) Plant litter decomposition at Fennoscandian tundra sites. In: Fennoscandian Tundra Ecosystem. Part 1: Plants and Microorganisms (ed. Wielgolaski FE), pp. 268-278. Springer-Verlag, Berlin Scowcroft P.G. (1997) Mass and nutrient dynamics of decaying litter from Passiflora mollissima and selected native species in a Hawaiian montane rain forest. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 13, 407-426 Sollins P., Cline S.P., Verhoeven T., Sachs D. & Spycher G. (1987) Patterns of log decay in old growth Douglas-fir forests. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 17, 1585-1595 Songwe N.C., Okali D.U.U. & Fasehun F.E. (1995) Litter decomposition and nutrient release in a tropical rain-forest, Southern Bakundu Forest Reserve, Cameroon. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 11, 333-350 Swift M.J., Healey I.N., Hibberd J.K., Sykes J.M., Bampoe V. & Nesbitt M.E. (1976) The decomposition of branch-wood in the canopy and floor of a mixed deciduous woodland. Oecologia, 26, 139-149 Tarasov M.E. & Birdsey R.A. (2001) Decay rate and potential storage of coarse woody debris in the Leningrad region. Ecological Bulletin, 49 Taylor B.R., Prescott C.E., Parsons W.J.F. & Parkinson D. (1991) Substrate control of litter decomposition in 4 Rocky Mountain coniferous forests. Canadian Journal of Botany, 69, 2242-2250 Yatskov M., Harmon M.E. & Krankina O.N. (2003) A chronosequence of wood decomposition in the boreal forests of Russia. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 33, 1211-1226