Abstract:In this study, we investigated leaf traits of 20 plant species (10 monocots and 10 dicots) in the Kerqin sandy land, Inner Mongolia, China. The leaf traits include caloric value, concentration of Mg, P, N, K and C, C/N ratio, N/P ratio, dry weight, leaf area, and specific leaf area. We also measured CO2 release rates from the powdered leaf litter of these species under HCl incubated conditions, and analyzed the relationships between the leaf traits and the rates and amount of CO2 release by means of the product-moment correlation coefficient. The results showed that values of leaf traits varied greatly among 20 species. The range of variation of each leaf trait was very large with the maximum values usually three times higher than the minimum values, even more than nine times for leaf Mg concentration. For the studied 20 species grown in the same habitat, such a variation is probably attributed to their hereditary factors. Correspondently, CO2 release among leaf litters of 20 species also varied greatly. The average amount of CO2 release for 20 species is about (4121±1713) μg kg-1. The maximum value ((8767±177)μg kg-1) was from leaf litter of Chenopodium acuminatum, and the minimum value ((1669±47)μg kg-1) was from leaf litter of Artemisia scoparia. N,and C concentrations, leaf C/N ratios and dry weight of leaves were significantly different between monocots and dicots. There was also significant difference of CO2 release between monocots and dicots. Since litter decomposition is mainly affected by litter quality in the same environment, we could conclude that such a difference may be attributed to the difference in litter chemical properties between monocots and dicots. The correlation analysis shows that N and C concentrations, C/N ratios and dry weight of the leaves were significant correlated to CO2 release of leaf litter for these 20 plant species. Therefore, the N and C concentrations, C/N ratios and dry weight of the leaves may be valuable for predicting leaf litter decomposition.