Abstract: Taking seven plots of coastal saline soil under different vegetation cover in North Jiangsu as study sites, this paper studied the seasonal fluctuations of soil basic physicochemical and biological characteristics, and analyzed the relationships between these fluctuations and vegetation cover. In the test plots, there was a greater variability of soil basic physicochemical and biological characteristics. The average soil electrical conductivity was lower in crop plots (0.95 dS·m^-1) than in natural vegetation plots (2.77 dS·m^-1), but parts of the crop plots showed an increased soil electrical conductivity compared with pre-planting. Overall, the soil fertility of the plots was generally at a low level, with the hydrolysable nitrogen content averagely lower than 50 mg·kg^-1, available phosphorus content (except fertilized plots) lower than 3 mg·kg^-1, and organic matter content less than 1%. Due to fertilization, the soil conditions in crop plots somewhat improved. For the test coastal saline soil, its electrical conductivity and nutrient level were the key factors affecting the vegetation distribution and plant growth, and soil electrical conductivity was most important. There existed close correlations between soil nitrogen
 and phosphorus contents and soil microbial amount. The seasonal fluctuations of soil characteristics were closely related with vegetation type and human disturbance, being relatively stable under higher vegetation coverage and lesser human disturbance, and dramatic in bare land and castor experimental plots.

Key words: coastal saline soil, soil property, limiting factor, coefficient of variation, disturbance