The Characteristics of Soil C, N and P and Stoichiometric Ratios as Affected by Land-Use in a Karst Area, Southwest China

Abstract

Chemometric analysis is often used as an effective indicator of the supply capacity of nutrients in soil–plant systems and their biogeochemical cycles. Understanding ecological stoichiometric characteristics of C, N and P in soils under various land uses is crucial to guide ecological restoration and agricultural cultivation in karst rocky desertification region. However, data on ecological stoichiometry at different land uses in karst areas is limited. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of different land uses on soil ecological stoichiometric ratios and further identify the factors that influence soil ecological stoichiometric ratios. The topsoil from forest, shrub and cultivated land (paddy field and dry land) both in a karst area and non-karst area (as a reference) of Mashan County was sampled to investigate the spatial variance of the ecological stoichiometric characteristics of C, N and P under different land uses. The results show that: (1) Land-use types significantly determined the spatial heterogeneity of soil ecological stoichiometry in karst areas. (2) Soil organic carbon (SOC) was not significantly different between shrubs in the karst area and forests in the non-karst area (p = 0.595), but there were virtual differences in total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), C:N, C:P and N:P between shrubs in the karst area and forests in the non-karst area (p < 0.01). (3) The contents of SOC, TN, and C:P, N:P in the study area were all generally higher in forests than those in cultivated land, and the content of TP was lower in forests than cultivated land, while C:N in cultivated land was higher than in shrubs in karst areas, and C:N was higher in forests than in cultivated land in non-karst areas. (4) Available nitrogen (AvN) was the main factor influencing stoichiometry in shrubs in karst areas, while pH, AvN, available phosphorus and elevation were the main factors in forests in non-karst areas, indicating that these factors significantly affect the soil ecological stoichiometric ratio during land-use changes. This study helps to understand the variations in soil ecological stoichiometric ratios under land-use changes. It provides guidance for the sustainable management of revegetation in karst regions in southwest China.