Abstract: With incubation test, this paper studied the mineralization rate and mineralization ratio of soil organic carbon (SOC) along an elevation gradient in the Wuyishan National Nature Reserve of Fujian Province, Southeast China. Soil samples with a field water capacity of 60% were incubated at 25 ℃ over 110 days. The mineralization rate of SOC increased with increasing elevation, and that in 0-40 cm layer under alpine meadow (0.08 g CO₂-C·kg^-1·d^-1) was 14.3%, 60.0%, and 166.7% greater than that under dwarf forest, coniferous forest, and evergreen broadleaf forest, respectively, with the difference mainly existed in 0-10 cm layer. The mineralization ratio of SOC in 0-40 cm layer under coniferous forest (16.6%) was 37.0%, 67.6%, and 79.1% higher than that under dwarf forest, evergreen broadleaf forest, and alpine meadow, respectively. The mineralization rate and mineralization ratio of SOC decreased with soil depth, and the decrement differed significantly (P＜0.05) with the soils at different elevations. It was suggested that elevation gradient had significant effects on the mineralization rate and mineralization ratio of SOC.

Key words: Film-mulched cultivation, Nitrogen nutrition physiology, Stress-resistance physiology, Rice