Temperate broadleaf forests are one of the biggest contributors to terrestrial carbon sinks, however they are also the most fragmented forest biome. Fragmentation changes the structure and function at the forest edge. We aim to understand how the edge effect and its interaction with flood and drought conditions impact leaf litter decomposition rates, the soil macroinvertebrate community, and the trophic cascade of spiders, understudied yet vital predators, to the soil macroinvertebrate community. We hypothesize that there will be higher decomposition rates and greater invertebrate richness and abundance in the irrigated plots. There will be a negative spider trophic cascade under drought conditions and a higher trophic cascade and indirect effect on leaf litter decomposition with more active hunting spiders in ambient conditions. The experiment took place at the Climate Interaction with Forest Fragmentation (CLIFF) site in Harvard Forest. From 2024 to 2026 we sampled 18 total plots each year across three forest contexts: interior, edge and clearing, with different water treatments: drought, ambient, and irrigated conditions. I measured the change in weight of leaf litter bags put out from 2024-2026 to calculate the decomposition rate. I sampled soil macroinvertebrates by collecting leaf litter and putting it into berlese funnels to extract and identify them. To assess trophic interactions, I pioneered nonlethal rapid biodiversity surveys of spiders through active searching during the day and at night to progress arthropod welfare in research. Soil macroinvertebrates are a crucial part of decomposition, which is essential for life on Earth. Increasingly extreme and frequent conditions like droughts and floods as well as heavy fragmentation of temperate broadleaf forests jeopardize the ecosystem services these forests provide that maintain our quality of life.