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It is generally accepted that leaf litter covers seeds, which may be beneficial for their survival, but it is unclear whether leaf litter contributes in different ways to the survival of plant seeds with contrasting sizes. In this study, we examined the effect of different levels of leaf litter coverage on seed predation and foraging/caching for small-seededPinus tabulaeformisand large-seededPinus armandiiin the Qinling Mountains, China. Our results showed that leaf litter failed to protectP. armandiiseeds from being removed by small rodents, whereas it improved seed survival forP. tabulaeformis.P. tabulaeformiswere eatenin situ, whereas moreP. armandiiseeds were eaten in the high leaf litter coverage plots. Therefore, we propose that leaf litter affects the survival and predation rates for large and smallPinusseeds in the Qinling Mountains, China. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]