Abstract:Research on the changes of soil C-, N-, and P-cycling enzymes' activities in aggregate fractions with different sizes is essential for improving our understanding of the variations in soil organic C and nutrients in the tea plantation ecosystems. Activities of soil β-glucosidase, invertase, urease, protease, and acid phosphatase were analyzed in aggregate fractions that were collected from 0-20 cm depth in tea plantations of various ages (8 a, 17 a, 25 a, and 43 a) in the hilly region of southern Guangxi, China. Soil aggregates were classified into > 2 mm, 1-2 mm, 0.25-1 mm, and < 0.25 mm fractions by an improved dry-sieving procedure. Across the four tea planting ages, the distribution of soil aggregates showed that the dominant aggregates were > 2 mm fractions with a mean value of 52.57%, and these fraction proportions in the 17 a of tea plantations were the highest in all tea plantations. Irrespective of the tea planting age, soil aggregate-related enzymes were mainly distributed in the > 2 mm fractions, except for the acid phosphatase. In these fractions, the activities of soil β-glucosidase, invertase, urease, and protease were 213.09-302.18 mg kg-1 h-1, 512.39-651.03 mg kg-1 h-1, 47.36-58.96 mg kg-1 h-1, and 74.49-94.45 mg kg-1 h-1, respectively. Soil β-glucosidase, invertase, urease, and protease activities first increased and then decreased alongside the tea planting age, and the 17 a of tea plantations had significantly higher levels compared with the other plantations. However, soil acid phosphatase activity continuously increased during tea planting. Long-term tea planting could promote soil organic matters (OM) to be accumulated. Notably, the youthful tea plantations in the initial 17 a. showed an increasing trend with respect to the potential of soil OM decomposition; however, when tea plantations became mature, the potential of soil OM decomposition was reduced. In the process of aggregate fractionation, the mean recovery rates of soil β-glucosidase, invertase, urease, protease, and acid phosphatase activities were 80.72%, 83.53%, 80.13%, 78.55%, and 84.60% across the four tea planting ages, respectively. As the major carriers for soil enzymes, the > 2 mm fractions played an important role in the cycles of soil organic C and nutrients. Therefore, after 17 a of tea planting, the development and implementation of a suitable management protocol is critically important to promote the > 2 mm fraction formation, so as to maintain the utilization efficiencies of soil organic C and nutrients in the hilly region of southern Guangxi, China.