Litter decomposition is an important ecosystem function driving carbon and nutrient cycling in ecosystems, and it is co-depended on diverse factors, whose impact magnitude might change in the course of decomposition process. Disentangling these factors is problematic, especially along large environmental gradients. We combined harmonized data collected within global TeaComposition initiative together with data from two experimental trials to address drivers of early-to-midterm litter decomposition. We showed that the litter quality was most controlling factor at the global scale, while the effect of climate was only pronounced when inhibiting thresholds were exceeded. At the regional scale, soil and understory cover showed a significant effect, whereas soil microbial community composition and function appeared to have less influence on the short-to-medium-term litter decomposition. Our results highlight the importance of longer-term studies over large temporal and special scales for better understanding of litter carbon turnover. Moreover, obtained common metric provides a strong tool for inter-site comparison within the network as well as within other global networks and can serve as an intermodal link between the ecological research disciplines.