The continuing warming of the climate system is reducing snow cover depth and duration worldwide. Changes in snow cover can significantly affect the soil microclimate and the functioning of many terrestrial ecosystems across latitudinal and elevational gradients. Yet, a quantitative assessment of the effects of snow cover change on soil physicochemical and biotic properties at large or regional scales is lacking. Here, we synthesized data of 3286 observations from 99 publications of snow manipulation studies to evaluate the effects of snow removal, addition, and compaction on soil physicochemical and biotic properties in winter and in the following growing season across (sub)arctic, boreal, temperate, and alpine regions. We found that (1) snow removal significantly reduced soil temperature by 2.2 and 0.9 °C in winter and in the growing season, respectively, while snow addition increased soil temperature in winter by 2.7 °C but only by 0.4 °C in the following growing season whereas snow compaction had no effect; (2) snow removal had limited effects on soil properties in winter but significantly affected soil moisture, pH, and carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) dynamics in the growing season; (3) snow addition had significant effects on soil properties both in winter (e.g., increases in soil moisture, soil C and N dynamics, phosphorus availability, and microbial biomass C and N) and in the growing season (e.g., increases in mineral N, microbial biomass C and N, and enzyme activities); and (4) the effects of snow manipulation on soil properties were regulated by moderator variables such as ecosystem type, snow depth, latitude, elevation, climate, and experimental duration. Overall, our results highlight the importance of snow cover-induced warmer microclimate in regulating soil physicochemical and biotic properties at regional scales. These findings are important for predicting and managing changes in snow-covered ecosystems under future climate change scenarios.

气候系统的持续变暖正在减少全球范围内的积雪深度和持续时间。积雪的变化会显着影响土壤小气候和许多陆地生态系统在纬度和海拔梯度上的功能。然而，缺乏对大范围或区域范围内积雪变化对土壤理化和生物特性影响的定量评估。在这里，我们综合了来自 99 篇雪操纵研究出版物的 3286 次观测数据，以评估除雪、添加和压实对冬季和下一个生长季节（亚）北极、北方、温带土壤理化和生物特性的影响和高山地区。我们发现（1）除雪在冬季和生长季节显着降低土壤温度 2.2 和 0.9°C，分别地，虽然积雪使冬季土壤温度增加了 2.7°C，但在随后的生长季节仅增加了 0.4°C，而积雪压实没有影响；(2) 除雪对冬季土壤性质的影响有限，但显着影响生长季节的土壤水分、pH 和碳 (C) 和氮 (N) 动态；(3) 加雪对冬季土壤性质（例如，土壤水分、土壤 C 和 N 动态、磷的有效性以及微生物生物量 C 和 N 的增加）和生长季节（例如，矿物质 N 的增加）都有显着影响。 ，微生物生物量 C 和 N，以及酶活性）；(4) 造雪对土壤性质的影响受生态系统类型、雪深、纬度、海拔、气候和实验持续时间等调节变量的调节。全面的，我们的研究结果强调了积雪引起的温暖小气候在区域尺度上调节土壤物理化学和生物特性的重要性。这些发现对于预测和管理未来气候变化情景下积雪覆盖的生态系统的变化非常重要。