Dear Dr Sun,

Many thanks for your detailed responses to the referees' and my comments. In your responses, you address all points raised, and I would like to invite you to submit the final manuscript. I would like to see it in its complete form before making a final decision.

Best wishes,
Jens-Arne Subke

Dear Professor Hou,

Many thanks for the completed manuscript, which i think reads very well. There are only a small number of edits that i think will aid clarity, which I outline below, If you;re happy to include these, I will be glad to accept this manuscript for publication.

Best wishes,
Jens-Arne Subke


Remaining edits:

Line 42: “1990s”

Line 43: “have recently been…”

Lines 123-125: Avoid using brackets if possible. Here for example: “Three sampling methods were designed to minimize the sample variance caused by the uneven litter distribution and to ensure the similar composition and quality of litter used for this and the next experiment: (1) half alongside, (2) half along diagonal, and (3) two sub-quarters (0.25 × 0.25 m) along diagonal (Supplemental Fig. 2).”

Line 191: “55”, rather than “fifty-five”.

Line 266: Delete “Firstly”.

Lines 304-307: this sentence is hard to follow. I suggest the following: “Thus, soil properties are unlikely to be significantly changed through grazing or grazing exclusion over relatively short periods, indicating that limited grazing events have a smaller effect on litter decomposition under cool environments on the QTP than in experiments conducted in warmer climates.”