Pedosphere (2): 568--579, 2026
ISSN 1002-0160/CN 32-1315/P
©2026 Soil Science Society of China
Published by Elsevier B.V. and Science Press
| Coupling and decoupling of soil carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium stocks along a 6,000-km northeast-southwest temperature gradient in China |
Qiqi TAN1 , Yuzhen CHEN2, Guoan WANG2 |
1 College of Grassland Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193 (China);
2 College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193 (China) |
| Corresponding Author:Qiqi TAN |
| ABSTRACT |
| Soil nutrient stocks are crucial to ecosystem stability. Previous studies have examined variations in soil carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) stocks in response to climate warming; however, there is a lack of knowledge regarding how climate warming affects soil potassium (K) stock, although K is the second most abundant nutrient in plants. Furthermore, how climate warming affects the balance of soil C, N, P, and K stocks remains to be elucidated. Here, we investigated the changes in soil C, N, P, and K stocks under climate warming by sampling soils along a 6 000-km northeast-southwest temperature gradient in China. We found that soil C and N stocks significantly decreased with increasing temperature. Soil C and N stocks exhibited a stronger response to temperature than to soil properties (i.e., soil pH and clay, silt, and sand contents), vegetation type, and soil type. However, soil P and K stocks remained stable with increasing temperature. Variations in soil P and K stocks were primarily regulated by soil properties, vegetation type, soil type, and soil parent material type. Furthermore, soil C stock was closely correlated with soil N stock along the temperature gradient, suggesting that coupled links between soil C and N stocks remained consistent across the temperature gradiet. The ratios of soil C and N stock to P and K stocks decreased with increasing temperature, indicating that soil C and N stocks declined more rapidly than soil P and K stocks under climate warming, thus resulting in the decoupling of C and N stocks from P and K stocks in the soil. Our findings revealed that soils might become more limited in C and N than in P and K under climate warming. |
| Key Words: climate warming,nutrient imbalance,soil fertility,soil nutrient stocks,soil nutrient stoichiometry |
| Citation: Tan Q Q, Chen Y Z, Wang G A. 2026. Coupling and decoupling of soil carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium stocks along a 6,000-km northeast-southwest temperature gradient in China. Pedosphere. 36(2): 568-579. |
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