Abstract:In order to investigate soil nitrogen content and composition characteristics under halophytic vegetation, soil properties and nitrogen contents in the depths of 0-20 cm, 20-40 cm and 40-60 cm in different halophyte communities were studied in a saline desert in Ebinur basin. The results showed that soil pH, conductivity, organic matter and C/N under different halophyte communities gradually decreased with the increase of soil depths, whereas water content showed an opposite trend. In the same soil depth, total nitrogen, organic nitrogen and nitrogen density were in the order of trees < shrubs < herbs. Along soil profile, the contents of different nitrogen forms and nitrogen density under different halophyte communities gradually decreased with increase of soil depths, indicating a phenomenon of surface aggregation. Except for ammonium nitrogen, there were significant correlations between soil organic matter, water content and bulk density and different nitrogen forms (P<0.01), and there also were significant positive correlations among different nitrogen forms (P<0.01). In addition, the ratios of nitrogen different forms to total nitrogen exhibited different responses to total nitrogen, the ratio of organic nitrogen to total nitrogen was relatively stable, the ratios of organic and alkali-hydrolyzale nitrogen to total nitrogen increased with the increase of total nitrogen, whereas, the ratios of inorganic, nitrate and ammonium nitrogen to total nitrogen decreased with the increase of total nitrogen content.