Analysing the spatial variation of soil respiration during the early growing season of different grasslands in China

The results demonstrated that during the early growing season, the <i>R</i> _s of the alpine meadow was the highest, followed by the typical steppe and desert steppe. Moreover, soil temperature was the primary factor affecting the SV of <i>R</i> _s in desert steppe. In contrast, soil water content influenced the SV of <i>R</i> _s in typical steppe. This study increases our understanding of the SV of <i>R</i> _s during the early growing season of different grasslands. It provides an important reference for accurately estimating the SV of <i>R</i> _s in grasslands at various time scales.