Abstract: In order to promote the healthy, stable and sustainable development of forest ecosystem, on the basis of collecting and reviewing the research results related to the element cycling of ground cover, the element input process and influencing factors of precipitation and litter decomposition were described, and the element output process based on runoff and plant root absorption was described to discuss the characteristics of the element change of ground cover under the background of global climate change.However, the current studies from the perspective of short-term experiments, single factor method and unidirectional input cannot fundamentally clarify the element circulation mechanism.Therefore, the future research should be strengthened from the aspects of technical methods, multi-disciplinary combination, model simulation and long-term monitoring.