Distinct latitudinal patterns and drivers of topsoil nitrogen and phosphorus across urban forests in eastern China

Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are the two most important macronutrients supporting forest growth. Unprecedented urbanization has created growing areas of urban forests that provide key ecosystem services for city dwellers. However, the large-scale patterns of soil N and P content remain poorly understood in urban forests. Based on a systematic soil survey in urban forests from nine large cities across eastern China, we examined the spatial patterns and key drivers of topsoil (0–20 cm) total N content, total P content, and N:P ratio. Topsoil total N content was found to change significantly with latitude in the form of an inverted parabolic curve, while total P content showed an opposite latitudinal pattern. Variance partition analysis indicated that regional-scale patterns of topsoil total N and P contents were dominated by climatic drivers and partially regulated by time and pedogenic drivers. Conditional regression analyses showed a significant increase in topsoil total N content with lower mean annual temperature (MAT) and higher mean annual precipitation (MAP), while topsoil total P content decreased significantly with higher MAP. Topsoil total N content also increased significantly with the age of urban park and varied with pre-urban soil type, while no such effects were found for topsoil total P content. Moreover, topsoil N:P ratio showed a latitudinal pattern similar to that of topsoil total N content and also increased significantly with lower MAT and higher MAP. Our findings demonstrate distinct latitudinal trends of topsoil N and P contents and highlight a dominant role of climatic drivers in shaping the large-scale patterns of topsoil nutrients in urban forests.