Characteristics of Soil Carbon, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Ecological Stoichiometry in Vegetable Fields and Orchard in the Coastal Area of Fuzhou

Abstract

The soil ecological stoichiometric characteristics of different agricultural land use types have a certain indicator function for characterizing the level of soil nutrient supply and are of great significance to the management of nutrient resources in farmland ecosystems. In order to reveal the soil carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) contents and their ecological stoichiometric characteristics in different vegetable fields and orchard agricultural land use types, this study took vegetable fields (taro field and jicama field) and orchards (citrus tree orchard, watermelon field, and pear tree orchard) as the research objects in the coastal area of Fuzhou City. The contents of soil C, N, and P and their ecological stoichiometric characteristics in different vegetable fields and orchard agricultural land uses were measured and analyzed. The soil C and N contents were in the order of orchard>vegetable field (P<0.05). The C content in the citrus tree orchard was the highest (4.44 g·kg-1), and the N content in the watermelon field was the highest (1.46 g·kg-1). The soil P content was vegetable field>orchard (P<0.05), and the jicama field had the highest P content (0.19 g·kg-1). The soil carbon and nitrogen ratio (C/N), carbon and phosphorus ratio (C/P), and nitrogen and phosphorus ratio (N/P) were orchard>vegetable field (P<0.05). Among them, the citrus tree orchard had the highest C/N (7.40) and C/P (61.43), and the watermelon field had the highest N/P (10.27). Soil N content was significantly and negatively correlated with bulk density and conductivity (r=-0.49, r=-0.28, P<0.05), and there was a significant and positive correlation with soil water content (r=0.61, P<0.05). C/P and C/N were significantly and positively correlated with SOM (r=0.71, r=0.64, P<0.01). In the process of crop planting and management in the coastal area of Fuzhou City, it is necessary to reasonably add nitrogen fertilizer to compensate for the N limitation, and slow-release nitrogen fertilizer is better for promoting the sustainable supply of nitrogen nutrients in the growth and development of crops.