**5. Conclusions**

The acid hydrolysable components released rapidly at the initial stages of decomposition as well as at later periods. However, these labile components greatly increased during snowmelt. Only 4–5% of the acid hydrolysable components remained in litter after four years of decomposition in this alpine forest. A reduction in snow depth decreased the release of acid hydrolysable components from plant litter by altering leaching, microbial biomass and stoichiometry.

**Author Contributions:** X.N. and F.W. conceived the study; S.L., X.N. and K.Y. performed the field experiment and chemical analysis; S.L. wrote the first draft. All authors contributed critically to the drafts and revisions. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** The National Natural Science Foundation of China (32101509, 32022056 and 32171641).

**Institutional Review Board Statement:** Not applicable.

**Informed Consent Statement:** Not applicable.

**Data Availability Statement:** The data are included in the manuscript submitted for peer review and will be archived online as supplementary materials of the manuscript is accepted for publication.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.
