Litter decomposition is vital for carbon and nutrient turnover in terrestrial ecosystems, and this process has now
been thoroughly demonstrated to be regulated by various mechanisms. The total environment has been continuously
changing in recent decades, especially in high-latitude regions; these alterations, however, profoundly contribute to the
decomposition process, but a comprehensive recognition has not available. Here we reviewed the empirical observations
and current knowledge regarding how hydrological leaching and freeze-thaw events modulate early decomposition of
plant litter. Leaching contributes a considerable percentage of mass loss and carbon and nutrient release in early stage of
decomposition, but the magnitudes are different between species levels depending on the chemical traits. Frequent freezing
and thawing events could positively influence decomposition rate in cold biomes but also hamper soil decomposer and
there is no general and predictable pattern has been emerged. Further experiments should be manipulated to estimate
how the altered freezing and thawing effect on carbon and nutrient release from plant litter to better understanding the
changing environment on litter decomposition.