A leaf-bag field experiment was conducted to investigate the decomposition and release of nutrients from leaves of two aquatic macrophytes (floating-leaved Trapa bispinosa and submerged Vallisneria natans) deposited in the four vertical locations (i.e. air-water interface, AW; sediment-water interface, SW; buried at a depth of 10 cm, B10; buried at a depth of 20 cm, B20) of littoral zone in Nanhu Lake, China, for 60 days from July to August 2015. Leaf initial quality significantly influenced mass loss and nutrient release except TN (total nitro...