Plant roots are the most important carbon (C) sink and nutrient pool in the terrestrial ecosystem. Root turnover is the key process in belowground C and nitrogen cycles, and it profoundly affects how belowground ecosystems respond to global climate change. Therefore, an accurate estimation of the plant root turnover rate is crucial for reliable predictions of the structure and function of ecosystems in the future. Research on fine roots and the methods to analyze them have been hot spots in the field of root ecology. However, the suitability of the different methods, and the comparability of the results obtained from them, have rarely been assessed based on data from one study site. Grassland root systems, especially fine root turnover, have also been poorly studiedthese topics have remained largely unexplored for herbaceous plants in China. The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau in western China was one of the first areas to be affected by climate change, because its ecosystems are fragile and sensitive to changes in climatic conditions. The study was conducted in a Kobresia humilis meadow, one of the dominant vegetation types on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Previous studies suggested that meadow ecosystems play the most important role in both uptake and storage of C in the plateau. The ecosystem is considered to be an active CO_2 sink. Roots may be one of the most important components of this sink, because root systems have a large biomass for storage and translocation of C into soil. To assess the suitability of the different measurement methods, we used sequential coring, ingrowth cores, and a minirhizotron to investigate the root production and turnover rates. To test the effects of the different calculation methods on the value of the root production and turnover rate, we used the max-min, integral, decision matrix, and Kaplan-Meier methods to calculate the root production and turnover rate from the measurements obtained using the three methods. The results of the comparative analysis showed that the integral calculation method was suitable to estimate the root production using data from the sequential coring method, while the decision matrix method was more suitable for calculations using data obtained by the ingrowth core method. In 2009, the root turnover rate was determined to be 0.36 a~(-1) using the sequential coring method, but 1.44 times higher, 0.52 a~(-1), using the ingrowth core method. The calculation methods more strongly affected the results obtained using a minirhizotron. The turnover rate determined using the integral method was 0.84 a~(-1), 2.33 times that determined using the sequential coring method and 1.62 times that determined using the ingrowth core method. The root turnover rate was estimated at 3.41 a~(-1) by Kaplan-Meier analysis, much higher than the values obtained using the sequential coring and ingrowth core methods. In conclusion, at this study site, the lowest root turnover rate was determined by the sequential coring method, the mid-range rate was determined using the ingrowth core method, and the highest rate was determined using a minirhizotron. The methods of data analysis will also affect the variations among results obtained using these three methods. Our results provide a basis to understand the roles of root production and turnover in the Kobresia humilis meadow and in the C and nutrient cycles in this ecosystem.