[Objective] The effect of litter composition on its water holding capacity for three different karst forest types in subtropical region was determined in order to provide a scientific basis for enriching forest ecohydrological research and deepening the understanding of the relationship between litter and hydrological functions. [Methods] Litters were collected from three representative karst forest types

i.e.

Cyclobalanopsis glauca forest

Cyclobalanopsis glauca + Fraxinus griffithii forest

and Platycarya strobilacea + Myrsine seguinii forest in subtropical region. The litters were sorted into four components: semi-decomposed litter

undecomposed branches

undecomposed leaves

and undecomposed other litter forms. The first three main litter components of each forest type were mixed at the ratios of 0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

and 100% with the same total weight

resulting in 21 groups for each forest type. The water holding capacities of the 63 litter groups were compared based on laboratory soaking experiments. [Results] ① The relationships of the water holding rate and the water absorption rate with soaking time were determined by logarithmic function (R2≥0.718) and power function (R2≥0.998). The highest value was observed in the group of undecomposed leaf litter of P. strobilacea + M. seguinii forest

while the lowest value was observed in the group of undecomposed branch litter of C. glauca + F. griffithii forest. ② The water holding rate and water absorption rate of litters had significant positive correlations with the proportion of undecomposed leaves (p＜0.01)

significant negative correlations with the proportion of undecomposed branches (p＜0.01)

and no significant relationship with the proportion of half-decomposed litters. ③ No significant differences in the total accumulation of litters and their maximum water holding capacity were found among the three forest types

whereas the maximum water absorption rate of litter was significantly higher in C. glauca forest than in P. strobilacea + M. seguinii forest. [Conclusion] The water holding capacity of litter is significantly affected by its composition

and this factor should be taken into account in studies of the hydrological effects of litters.