Abstract: Changes in the structure and composition of vegetation communities often determine the organic carbon and nitrogen cycles in the soil. In order to explore the soil characteristics of forests on Changbai Mountain naturally recovered 26 years after wind damage, we selected three typical forest types―Korean pine and broadleaved mixed forest, sprucesfir forest and Erman’s birch forest along an altitudinal gradient, and compared the contents of soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) in the wind damaged area with those in the undamaged area (control area). Regardless of wind damage, SOC and TN contents were significantly higher in topsoil (0-10 cm) than in subsoil (10-20 cm). Within each forest type, no significant differences were found in SOC and TN contents between the damaged and control area. However, SOC and TN contents of both topsoil and subsoil increased with elevation. SOC and TN contents in topsoil significantly differed among the three forest types, while no differences observed in subsoil. Moreover, in Korean pine and broadleaved mixed forest and sprucefir forest, SOC and TN contents in topsoil were higher in the control area than  in the damaged area. With rising elevation, C/N in both topsoil and subsoil displayed a decrease trend regardless of wind damage. Overall, after 26 years’ natural recovery since the wind damage, the contents of SOC and TN did not differ significantly between the damaged area and the control area, but the ratio of C/N did. Our results suggested that soil quality was largely recovered, but the types of SOC input differed between the damaged area and the control area due to differences in the structure and composition of vegetation communities. Therefore, soil C/N may reflect the effects of vegetation changes on soil better than the contents of SOC and TN.

Key words: functional feeding group, biotic index, Lancang River basin, benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages