Background and aims <p>In forests, the primary physical processes involved in plant litter decomposition are fragmentation and leaching, both of which are influenced by the repeated drying-wetting cycles. Climate warming and altered precipitation regimes are expected to increase the frequency of such cycles, yet their effects on the balance between these physical decomposition pathways remain unclear.</p> Methods <p>We collected leaf litter of six deciduous and four evergreen broad-leaved tree species from subtropical forests in South China. Leaf litter was incubated for 60&#xa0;days at 4 ℃ and subjected to five drying-wetting cycles. We measured litter mass loss, particulate organic carbon (POC) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) production, and DOC aromaticity. We used POC and DOC production as proxies for fragmentation and leaching, respectively.</p> Results <p>Increasing drying-wetting cycles enhanced POC production but reduced DOC production, leading to elevated POC:DOC ratio. These shifts were stronger for deciduous than for evergreen broad-leaved litter, suggesting the greater vulnerability of deciduous broad-leaved litter to increased drying-wetting regimes. Moreover, DOC aromaticity increased with drying-wetting cycles during litter decomposition. In addition, litter mass loss and cumulative POC and DOC production were positively related to specific leaf area across both leaf habits, but correlated with water holding capacity only for deciduous broad-leaved species.</p> Conclusions <p>This laboratory incubation study shows that increasing drying-wetting cycles alter the balance between physical fragmentation and leaching during litter decomposition, and the magnitudes of these shifts depend on leaf habit. These findings improve our understanding of how altered drying-wetting regimes reshape litter decomposition in subtropical forests.</p>