The changes in the carbon pool of alpine grasslands of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau play an irreplaceably significant role in promoting regional ecological balance and sustainable development. This study focused on the alpine grasslands of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and analyzed the effects of winter warming， clipping， and their interactions on soil organic carbon components and the stability of carbon pool. The results indicated that winter warming significantly increased the content of easily oxidisable organic carbon in the soil. Clipping significantly increased the content of soil particulate organic carbon and decreased the content of mineral-bound organic carbon （P<0.05）. The interaction between winter warming and clipping significantly reduced the content of mineral-bound organic carbon （P<0.05）. Winter warming significantly enhanced soil carbon pool activity， the carbon pool activity index， and the carbon pool management index （P<0.05）. Soil moisture content showd a highly significant positive correlation with the content of mineral-bound organic carbon （P<0.01）， while it exhibited a significant negative correlation with the carbon pool activity and the carbon pool activity index （P<0.05）. Redundancy analysis and hierarchical partitioning revealed that soil moisture content and nitrate nitrogen concentration significantly influenced the components of soil organic carbon and the stability of the carbon pool. This study provides fundamental data for understanding the changes in soil organic carbon pools under the effects of climate change and human activities in the alpine grasslands of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Winter warming  /  Clipping  /  Alpine grasslands  /  Organic carbon fractions  /  Carbon pool stability