Elevation-induced changes in soil sulfur availability in tea plantations

Chinese tea plantations, as the world’s leading tea producers, face escalating challenges such as soil acidification and nutrient management. Investigating soil nutrient variations along elevation gradients is crucial. Despite extensive research on macronutrients like carbon, nitrogen, and phosphoru...

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Main Authors: Hong Wang, Chen Qian, Hiba Shaghaleh, Jianfei Wang, Xiaoliang Li, Sumei Duan, Cece Qiao, Yousef Alhaj Hamoud
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-08-01
Series:Frontiers in Plant Science
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2025.1624346/full
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author Hong Wang
Chen Qian
Hiba Shaghaleh
Jianfei Wang
Xiaoliang Li
Sumei Duan
Cece Qiao
Yousef Alhaj Hamoud
author_facet Hong Wang
Chen Qian
Hiba Shaghaleh
Jianfei Wang
Xiaoliang Li
Sumei Duan
Cece Qiao
Yousef Alhaj Hamoud
author_sort Hong Wang
collection DOAJ
description Chinese tea plantations, as the world’s leading tea producers, face escalating challenges such as soil acidification and nutrient management. Investigating soil nutrient variations along elevation gradients is crucial. Despite extensive research on macronutrients like carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus, the role of available sulfur (AS), tightly interlinked with other nutrients, remains underexplored. This study focuses on available S dynamics in Huoshan County, Anhui Province, utilizing soil and litter samples collected from tea plantations at diverse elevations. The results revealed non-linear variations of soil AS with altitude and principal component (PC1) of other soil properties, significantly influencing tea plantation segregation by elevation. Available S exhibited heightened sensitivity to elevation changes compared to other nutrients, underscoring its pivotal role in tea plantation management and soil nutrient cycling. Furthermore, tea plantation dimensions notably decreased with increasing altitude. These findings emphasize the importance of available S in tea garden nutrient management and suggest its crucial consideration in future research and management endeavors. The non-linear correlation between available S and PC1 highlights the responsiveness of available S to elevation variations, emphasizing its significance in tea plantation soil dynamics. This study offers valuable insights into optimizing nutrient management strategies in tea plantations amidst elevation gradients.
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publishDate 2025-08-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
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series Frontiers in Plant Science
spelling doaj-art-03e18e17b51e4ff2866af1be1c7cc5e72025-08-20T02:57:08ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Plant Science1664-462X2025-08-011610.3389/fpls.2025.16243461624346Elevation-induced changes in soil sulfur availability in tea plantationsHong Wang0Chen Qian1Hiba Shaghaleh2Jianfei Wang3Xiaoliang Li4Sumei Duan5Cece Qiao6Yousef Alhaj Hamoud7Engineering Research Center for Smart Crop Planting and Processing Technology, Anhui Science and Technology University, Chuzhou, ChinaEngineering Research Center for Smart Crop Planting and Processing Technology, Anhui Science and Technology University, Chuzhou, ChinaSchool of Energy and Environment, Southeast University, Nanjing, ChinaEngineering Research Center for Smart Crop Planting and Processing Technology, Anhui Science and Technology University, Chuzhou, ChinaEngineering Research Center for Smart Crop Planting and Processing Technology, Anhui Science and Technology University, Chuzhou, ChinaEngineering Research Center for Smart Crop Planting and Processing Technology, Anhui Science and Technology University, Chuzhou, ChinaEngineering Research Center for Smart Crop Planting and Processing Technology, Anhui Science and Technology University, Chuzhou, ChinaCollege of Hydrology and Water Resources, Hohai University, Nanjing, ChinaChinese tea plantations, as the world’s leading tea producers, face escalating challenges such as soil acidification and nutrient management. Investigating soil nutrient variations along elevation gradients is crucial. Despite extensive research on macronutrients like carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus, the role of available sulfur (AS), tightly interlinked with other nutrients, remains underexplored. This study focuses on available S dynamics in Huoshan County, Anhui Province, utilizing soil and litter samples collected from tea plantations at diverse elevations. The results revealed non-linear variations of soil AS with altitude and principal component (PC1) of other soil properties, significantly influencing tea plantation segregation by elevation. Available S exhibited heightened sensitivity to elevation changes compared to other nutrients, underscoring its pivotal role in tea plantation management and soil nutrient cycling. Furthermore, tea plantation dimensions notably decreased with increasing altitude. These findings emphasize the importance of available S in tea garden nutrient management and suggest its crucial consideration in future research and management endeavors. The non-linear correlation between available S and PC1 highlights the responsiveness of available S to elevation variations, emphasizing its significance in tea plantation soil dynamics. This study offers valuable insights into optimizing nutrient management strategies in tea plantations amidst elevation gradients.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2025.1624346/fulltea plantationcycling processstoichiometryavailable sulfursoil nutrient
spellingShingle Hong Wang
Chen Qian
Hiba Shaghaleh
Jianfei Wang
Xiaoliang Li
Sumei Duan
Cece Qiao
Yousef Alhaj Hamoud
Elevation-induced changes in soil sulfur availability in tea plantations
Frontiers in Plant Science
tea plantation
cycling process
stoichiometry
available sulfur
soil nutrient
title Elevation-induced changes in soil sulfur availability in tea plantations
title_full Elevation-induced changes in soil sulfur availability in tea plantations
title_fullStr Elevation-induced changes in soil sulfur availability in tea plantations
title_full_unstemmed Elevation-induced changes in soil sulfur availability in tea plantations
title_short Elevation-induced changes in soil sulfur availability in tea plantations
title_sort elevation induced changes in soil sulfur availability in tea plantations
topic tea plantation
cycling process
stoichiometry
available sulfur
soil nutrient
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2025.1624346/full
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AT jianfeiwang elevationinducedchangesinsoilsulfuravailabilityinteaplantations
AT xiaoliangli elevationinducedchangesinsoilsulfuravailabilityinteaplantations
AT sumeiduan elevationinducedchangesinsoilsulfuravailabilityinteaplantations
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