This dataset includes measurements of litter in 20 plots (250 x 10 m each) in the Brazilian Amazon. Study plots were distributed across a gradient of forest disturbance, including: undisturbed primary forests , logged primary forests, logged-and-burned primary forests, and secondary forests. Data were collected from January 2015 until October 2018. In December 2015, during the El Niño-mediated drought, eight of our study plots were affected by understory fires.