Significance statement
Dissolved organic matters and inorganic nutrients released from forest leaf litter are important energy and nutrient sources that support the production of aquatic food webs. However, the variation of the release efficiencies of dissolved organic matter and inorganic nutrients of leaf litter with different stoichiometric traits and from distinct tree types are elusive. Our study revealed that release efficiency of dissolved C, N, and P is highly species-specific and partially related to leaf litter stoichiometry. This inferred that changes of the vegetation with different leaf litter stoichiometry in watersheds can alter the food web structure in the ambient aquatic ecosystems. We believe that these results, notably on the stoichiometry of forest leaf litter and leaf litter leachate and its cross-ecosystem effects on aquatic food webs have a broad appeal among both aquatic and terrestrial ecologists.