---
title: Leaf litter in a terrarium | Glass Jar Garden
description: Leaf litter: Dry leaves on top. Food and shelter for the cleanup crew. In the jar it has holds water 35 % by volume, pore space 94 % by volume, weight 37.5...
url: https://glassjar.garden/guide/soils/leaf-litter/
---

Soils and layers

# Leaf litter

Dry leaves on top. Food and shelter for the cleanup crew.

## What the simulation uses

- Holds water: 35 % by volume (Water it keeps after draining; the rest runs down to the drainage.)

- Pore space: 94 % by volume (Room for air and water between grains; low means roots suffocate when wet.)

- Weight: 37.5 g/L (How heavy a litre is.)

- pH: 4.5 to 6.5 pH (How acid it keeps the soil.)

- Mould risk: medium (How much fresh food it gives white mould; high-risk soils fuzz over in the first weeks.)

- Breaks down in: 0.3 to 2 years (How long it lasts before rotting down to fine soil.)

- Nutrients: medium (Plant food it brings.)

- Presses down to: 40 % of its loose depth (How far pressing can pack it, keeping its weight.)

## Description
Dead leaves on the surface slowly rot down, returning nutrients and releasing tannins that make the soil a little more acid. Fresh leaves may grow a brief mould bloom. Top it up as it disappears, anywhere from a few months to two years.

Also called dried leaves, magnolia leaves, oak leaves, catappa leaves.

Estimated, where sources were thin: bulk density and k decay constant under vivarium conditions estimated.

## Sources

- [en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaf_litter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaf_litter)
- [joshsfrogs.com/sp/magnolia-leaf-litter-1-gallon-mll81547](https://joshsfrogs.com/sp/magnolia-leaf-litter-1-gallon-mll81547)
- [en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Substrate_(aquarium)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Substrate_(aquarium))

[Grow it in a jar](https://glassjar.garden/?guide=soils/leaf-litter)

[Lava rock (scoria)](https://glassjar.garden/guide/soils/lava-rock/) · [LECA (expanded clay)](https://glassjar.garden/guide/soils/leca/) · [All soils and layers](https://glassjar.garden/guide/soils/)