Vertical stratification of soil stoichiometric drivers across urban forest parks in Shenzhen, China
- 1Key Laboratory of Southern Subtropical Plant Diversity, Fairylake Botanical Garden, Shenzhen & Chinese Academy of Sciences
- 2Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Organic Pollution Prevention and Control, State Key Laboratory of Urban-Rural Water Resource and Environment, School of Eco-Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology Shenzhen
Abstract
The vertical distribution of soil nutrients and their stoichiometry is shaped by landscape-scale processes and soil-forming factors, but how these controls vary by depth remains unclear in urban forest parks. We examined this in six urban parks in Shenzhen, China, all below 300 m elevation and on similar parent material, by analyzing soil carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) stoichiometry across four depths (0–10, 10–20, 20–40, 40–60 cm). Higher N/P and C/P ratios in surface soils indicate potential P deficiency. Soil pH mainly regulates stoichiometry, likely by affecting P availability. Precipitation and elevation shaped nutrient patterns through leaching control and organic matter buildup. Notably, dominant factors shifted with depth: climate, topography, and human management drove patterns in surface layers (0–20 cm), while plant diversity and inherent soil properties were more important at 20–60 cm. This shift suggests greater biological and legacy effects in deeper, less disturbed soil. Our findings show that soil stoichiometry marks biogeochemical separation with depth and underscores the need to include deep-soil processes in nutrient cycling models to better predict ecosystem stability under environmental change.
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BibTeX
@article{ren2026vertical,
title = {{Vertical stratification of soil stoichiometric drivers across urban forest parks in Shenzhen, China}},
author = {Ying Ren and Rongshu Zhu and Zhiqiang Dong and Wei Zeng and Fengjun Yuan and Zhengjun Shi},
journal = {Scientific Reports},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1038/s41598-026-63150-6},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-63150-6},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Vertical stratification of soil stoichiometric drivers across urban forest parks in Shenzhen, China
AU - Ying Ren
AU - Rongshu Zhu
AU - Zhiqiang Dong
AU - Wei Zeng
AU - Fengjun Yuan
AU - Zhengjun Shi
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/01
JO - Scientific Reports
DO - 10.1038/s41598-026-63150-6
UR - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-63150-6
AB - The vertical distribution of soil nutrients and their stoichiometry is shaped by landscape-scale processes and soil-forming factors, but how these controls vary by depth remains unclear in urban forest parks. We examined this in six urban parks in Shenzhen, China, all below 300 m elevation and on similar parent material, by analyzing soil carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) stoichiometry across four depths (0–10, 10–20, 20–40, 40–60 cm). Higher N/P and C/P ratios in surface soils indicate potential P deficiency. Soil pH mainly regulates stoichiometry, likely by affecting P availability. Precipitation and elevation shaped nutrient patterns through leaching control and organic matter buildup. Notably, dominant factors shifted with depth: climate, topography, and human management drove patterns in surface layers (0–20 cm), while plant diversity and inherent soil properties were more important at 20–60 cm. This shift suggests greater biological and legacy effects in deeper, less disturbed soil. Our findings show that soil stoichiometry marks biogeochemical separation with depth and underscores the need to include deep-soil processes in nutrient cycling models to better predict ecosystem stability under environmental change.
SN - 2045-2322
ER -