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Artificial wetlands are constructed around the globe for a variety of services, including wastewater treatment and carbon storage. To become a carbon sink, a newly constructed wetland must have a fully developed vegetation, consisting of species that can produce more organic matter than is being lost through decomposition. However, the effects of environmental conditions on the overall balance between production and decomposition might be complex. In this study, two large-scale field litterbag experiments were performed in a three-year old constructed wetland in the Netherlands, to separate the effects of litter characteristics and environmental conditions on decomposition rates of aquatic pioneer vegetation. Dimension reduction by principal component analysis was used to limit the number of variables for subsequent analyses in linear models. When transplanted to one common environment, litter …