Compensatory mechanisms of litter decomposition under alternating moisture regimes in tropical rice fields

•Significantly higher abundance of soil mesofauna under aerobic field conditions.•Invertebrates substantially contributed to straw decomposition in flooded fields.•No contribution by invertebrates to rice straw decomposition in non-flooded fields.•Highly accelerated microbial decomposition rates under aerobic soil conditions.•No correlation between invertebrate-driven decomposition and soil fauna abundance.