Abstract: Plant communities, as one of the main source of soil organic carbon, can transport organic carbon into soils through litter decomposition, fine root turnover, and root exudation. Global climate warming is profoundly changing the distribution, structure and function of plant communities, with consequences on the amount and quality of plant communityderived soil organic carbon inputs through changing aboveand below ground litter production and decomposition and root exudation processes. In this review, we systematically summarized research progress on soil organic carbon inputs by plant communities and its responses to climate warming. Climate warming could directly affect litter production and root exudation processes by changing plant growth, and indirectly affect carbon inputs by changing the biotic and abiotic factors affecting litter decomposition, such as microenvironmental condition, litter quality and structure and activity of decomposers. Climate warming could indirectly affect carbon inputs from plant roots by affecting root traits and root exudate composition. However, the potential mechanisms need to be further explored. Future studies should focus on the mechanisms underlying the effects of climate warming on plant community structure, which could affect soil organic carbon inputs and the contribution of coarse woody debris to soil organic carbon. The integration of litter decomposition and root exudation processes should be conducted to better understand the contribution of plant communities to soil carbon pool and carbon cycling processes under climate warming.

Key words: soil enzyme activity, herb, microbial diversity.