Abstract: Global frozen regions include seasonally frozen and permafrost regions, which are mainly distributed in the high altitude and high latitude regions, and store substantial organic carbon in soils. The region is facing a higher rate of warming than global average level. Much attention has been focused on the effects of climate warming on soil organic carbon in the region and its feedback to climate warming. Here, we reviewed the effects of climate warming on the key processes of carbon cycling (e.g., plant production, decomposition of leaf and root litter, microbial community structure, etc.), as well as the formation and stability mechanisms of soil organic carbon in grasslands in the seasonally frozen and permafrost regions. We put forward scientific questions and analyzed the trends about experimental design and new technology application in the future to promote the research of key processes of carbon cycling and stability mechanism of soil organic carbon pool in the alpine grassland ecosystems under climate warming.

Key words: climate warming, grassland ecosystem, carbon cycling, soil organic carbon formation, organic carbon stability