Understanding the response of soil respiration to changes in temperature and moisture is critical to accurately assess the impact of afforestation on regional carbon balance. In order to investigate the response of soil respiration to soil temperature and moisture, we partitioned soil respiration into three components (heterotrophic respiration, root respiration, and rhizomicrobial respiration) using ¹³C natural abundance during the growing season in a Robinia pseudoacacia plantation in northern China. Root respiration and soil microbial respiration had a significantly positive relationship with soil temperature. Heterotrophic respiration was positively correlated with soil moisture, while rhizomicrobial respiration significantly decreased with a reduction in soil moisture. Our findings suggest that the responses of plant roots and soil microorganisms to soil temperature and moisture were different. According to the prediction of the rootmicrobial model developed in this study, average soil respiration will increase by 12 mg C m^-2 h^-1 when soil temperature increases by 2ºC in the plantation. By modelling the relationship of a root-microbial system during the growing season in a plantation in northern China, the temperature and moisture sensitivities of soil respiration can be characterized.