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. Microbial stoichiometry and its potential driving factors play crucial rolesin understanding the balance of chemical elements in ecological interactionsand nutrient limitations along the aridity gradient. However, little is knownabout the variation in these features along the aridity gradient due to the lackof comprehensive field investigations. Additionally, previous studiesfocused on the topsoil (0–10 or 0–20 cm); however, the minimum samplingdepth for topsoil could impact the results of the vertical distribution ofmicrobial stoichiometry. In the present study, we measured the variation inmicrobial stoichiometry, examined the major influential factors (climatic,edaphic, and biotic factors) along an aridity gradient, and determined whetherthe sampling depth affected microbial C : N : P stoichiometry. From the topsoilto the subsoil, the microbial C : N, C : P, and N : P ratios varied from 6.59 to6.83, from 60.2 to 60.5, and from 9.29 to 8.91, respectively. Only themicrobial C : N ratio significantly increased with soil depth. The microbialC : N ratio significantly increased with increasing aridity in both topsoiland subsoil, while the microbial N : P ratio decreased along the ariditygradient only for the topsoil. This result implied that drought-stimulatedmicrobes tend to be more N conservative, especially those in topsoil. Amongall the factors, the soil organic carbon (SOC) content and the fungi-to-bacteria ratio exerted the largest influence on the microbial C : N, C : P, andN : P ratios at both soil depths, implying that the substrate supply andmicrobial structure together controlled the microbial stoichiometry. Theresults also revealed that the aridity index (AI) and plant abovegroundbiomass (AGB) exerted negative impacts on the microbial C : N ratio at bothsoil depths, and the effects of AI decreased in the subsoil. The results ofthis study suggested that the flexibility of the microbial N : P ratio shouldbe considered when establishing the sampling depth for microbialstoichiometry study.

A comparison of patterns of microbial C : N : P stoichiometry between topsoil and subsoil along an aridity gradient