Taking the National Nature Reserve in Wuyi Mountains as experimental site, the seasonal variation and temperature sensitivity of soil respiration under four plant communities along an elevation gradient were studied, with their relations to the main environmental factors analyzed. The results showed that the soil respiration under the four plant communities had the same seasonal pattern, with the maximum (3.10-6.57 micromol CO2 x m(-2) x S(-1)) occurred in summer and the minimum (0.27-1.15 micromol CO2 x m(-2) x s(-l)) in winter. Soil respiration rate had a significant exponential correlation with soil temperature, but its correlations with soil moisture and litter input differed with plant communities. The Q10 value of soil respiration was higher at high elevation than at low elevation. In mid-subtropical regions, the seasonal variation of soil respiration at different elevations was mainly controlled by soil temperature, indicating that in the case of global warming in the future, soils at higher elevation might release more CO2 to the atmosphere.