Abstract:Ecological stoichiometry focuses on the equilibrium relationships among carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and other nutrients that required by organisms. The present study firstly investigated the soil C, N and P concentrations and their stoichiometric characteristics in Picea schrenkiana (Schrenk's spruce) forests. Then we evaluated the relationships between these concentrations and stoichiometric characteristics with mean annual temperature (MAT) and mean annual precipitation (MAP). Finally, redundancy analysis (RDA) was used to study relationships between soil stoichiometry and soil C, N and P stoichiometry. The results showed that the C, N, and P concentrations in the 0-10 cm soil layer were 44.6-143.4, 0.190-0.940, and 0.086-0.286 g/kg, respectively; the concentrations were lower with 23.0-131.0 g/kg for C, 0.122-0.589 g/kg for N, and 0.032-0.178 g/kg for P in 10-30 cm depth, compare with 0-10 cm depth. In 30-80 cm depth, C, N, and P concentrations were 14.5-67.0, 0.149-0.397, and 0.062-0.169 g/kg, respectively. C, N, and P concentrations in 0-10 cm soils were significantly correlated with MAT, P concentrations in 0-10 and 10-30 cm soils have significant relationships with MAP. C:P ratios of 0-10 cm soils was linearly correlated MAT. N:P ratios in 0-10 and 10-30 cm soils increased with MAT and MAP. The RDA showed that in the 0-30 cm soils, C, N, and P stoichiometry were mainly affected by soil moisture content and bulk density, soil moisture content was positively correlated with C:P and N:P ratios, soil bulk density was negatively correlated with the N:P ratio. In 30-80 cm soils, C, N, and P stoichiometry were primarily driven by soil moisture content clay content. Specifically, soil moisture content was positively correlated to N and P concentrations, bulk density was positively correlated to C, C:N, C:P, and N:P ratio and negatively to N and P concentrations. Additionally, we did not found significant relationships between electrical conductivity and pH with C, N, and P stoichiometry, which could be due to the non-significant difference in soil EC and pH in our study area.