Abstract:Changes in soil temperature and moisture conditions during the freeze-thaw process significantly affect the dynamics of soil respiration in seasonally frozen soil, while carbon dioxide released from soil respiration influences the climate by exacerbating the greenhouse effect, thereby altering key hydrological cycle components such as precipitation and evapotranspiration processes. Therefore, quantifying the relationship between freeze-thaw process and soil respiration in seasonally frozen soil is crucial for predicting the regional climate and the dynamic balance of the hydrological cycle. In this paper, based on the continuous in situ measurements of soil respiration and freeze-thaw process in seasonally frozen soil of Leiwuqi County, in the upper reaches of the Lancang River, one-factor models of soil respiration at different freeze-thaw stages were established to analyze the effects of soil temperature and moisture on soil respiration during the freeze-thaw process. The results show that soil respiration fluxes on the diurnal scale and in a single freeze-thaw process vary unimodally, and the contribution of soil respiration in the thawed stage was about 94%. Soil temperature is the most important influence on soil respiration during freeze-thaw process when soil water content is greater than 0.09m3·m-3. The exponential model of soil respiration versus soil temperature in the regression fitting performs the best, the temperature sensitivity index of soil respiration (Q10) is highest in the thawing stage (43.21±4.72), lowest in the complete thawing stage (2.71±0.17), and generally decreases with decreasing soil moisture and increasing soil temperature. The results of the study can provide a reference for further research of soil carbon emission in the seasonally frozen soil zone under the background of warming and humidification in the Tibetan Plateau.