Patterns and Driving Mechanism of C, N, P Ecological Stoichiometry in Plant-Litter-Soil Systems of Monoculture and Mixed Coastal Forests in Southern Zhejiang Province of China

Mixed forests are usually associated with higher resource utilization compared to the corresponding monocultures; however, tree mixing effects of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) ecological stoichiometry in coastal forest ecosystems remains largely unknown. We C, N, P different ecosystem components (i.e., canopy layer, herb litter 0–20 cm and 20–40 soils) among two monocultures (Casuarina equisetifolia Eucalyptus saligna) their mixture Taizhou, Zhejiang province, China. also assessed main microhabitat factors (wind speed, soil salinity, moisture pH) on stoichiometry. Two showed same elemental pattern “low C high P” for both layers, soil, indicating evident N limitations; intensified deficiency more. The stronger correlations than monocultures. Redundancy hierarchical partitioning analysis overall independent separately, which presented more shallow (20–40 cm) P, while salinity mainly affected layers; wind speed had greater layer These results expected provide a management reference regeneration degraded plantations southern province