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The decomposability of 15 litter types from four miombo woodland species, two tree species, Brachystegia spiciformis and Julbernardia globiflora, a grass species, Dactylotaenium aegyptium, and a sedge, Bulbostylis megastachys, was determined on the assumption that different plant components could be used as predictors for C and N mineralization. The chemical composition of the litter, in terms of lignin, polyphenol, cellulose and total C and N contents was determined. The C and N mineralization patterns of the litter were also investigated during 75 days of aerobic laboratory incubation with soil and correlated with the initial composition. The litter materials contained between 40–51% organic C and total N contents of 13 of the 15 litter types were low, ranging from 0.47% for D. aegyptium leaf to 1.29% for lichens + bark fragments found associated with B. spiciformis stem. The lignin contents ranged from 0.03 …