“…In addition, the photosynthetic rate of plants is temperaturedependent (DeLucia and Smith, 1987;Mellander et al, 2004;Zaka et al, 2016), and the root respiration rate is thought to increase when the photosynthetic rate is high due to high air and soil temperatures (Sampson et al, 2007;Metcalfe et al, 2011). The photosynthetic rates of Abies veitchii, A. mariesii, and Pinus pumila, which are dominant in the sites of the present study, are decreased by low air and soil temperatures (Shimada andTakahashi, 2022, Suzuki and. Therefore, lower soil respiration rates at higher elevations are undoubtedly caused by lower biomass and cooler temperatures.…”