Soil nutrients are one of the basic elements for growth of plants. Many studies have been carried out on the cycle and coupling of soil nutrients for better understanding on land-use improvements. 

Scientists at the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography have recently adopted stoichiometry in their study on the effect of soil nutrient along soil profile.  

As an important indicator of the elemental balance in ecological interaction and process, stoichiometry may provide researchers with a new method for soil nutrients evaluation, and thus get a deep understanding of the biological processes of the ecosystems. 

The Ili River Valley, located in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of northwest China, is a traditional agro-pastoral region. Scientists collected soil samples along a 100 cm soil profile from six different land use types at the Valley and performed analysis to evaluate the influences of land-use on contents and stoichiometry of different nutrients contents. 

Their study showed that natural land had significantly higher soil organic, soil total nitrogen and soil available nutrient contents than those of croplands in all soil layers. Both soil nutrient contents and stoichiometry can be influenced by land-uses in the sample objects. These effects are not limited to topsoil. 

“We suggest that more nutrient inputs, such as manure and crop residues should be applied to the croplands of the Ili River Valley to improve the levels of soil C and N,” said LI Lanhai, lead author of the study. 

Result of the study was published on CATENA entitled “Soil nutrient contents and stoichiometry as affected by land-use in an agro-pastoral region of northwest China”.