Understating of forest functioning is crucial for ensuring the sustainable flow of forest ecosystem services. Climate regulation service of a forest ecosystem can be ensured through emission reduction by increasing carbon sequestration in forests. However, understanding about the functioning of forests for carbon sequestration is constrained due to lack of information on nutrient stocks and stoichiometry of soils of forests of India. Present study focuses to examine the stoichiometry of major nutrients; nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), carbon (C) of forest soil to understand the dynamics of the forests of Uttarakhand, India. The study also attempted to supplement the information about the soil carbon sequestration potential of important tree species of the forest. Soil samples were collected randomly for the evaluation of physico-chemical characteristics and stoichiometry of forest soil at four altitudinal ranges i.e., <1000, 1000–1500, 1500–2000, and >2000 m a.s.l in the Himalayan region of Uttarakhand, India. The analysis shows that total nitrogen, total phosphorous, and soil organic carbon contents in forest soil were 0.35 ± 0.11%, 0.10 ± 0.04% and 3.36 ± 0.84%, respectively, which increases with altitude. The stoichiometric ratios viz., C:N:P, N:P, C:N, and C:P, and N:P were reported of 51.6:5.4:1, 4.30 ± 2.39, 9.60 ± 1.48, and 41.94 ± 23.35, respectively which were invariant with altitude. The low C:N ratio may be attributed to either increase in the nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions with an increase in nitrogen, or low in carbon stock leading to decrease in carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane (CH₄) emissions. Moreover, the soil C sequestration potential in the forest tree species follow the order of Abies pindrow > Cedrus deodara > Quercus leucotrichophora > Pinus roxburghii. The information of the study would facilitate for broadening the understanding about the soil properties and stoichiometry of forest ecosystem and would provide an aid to forest management besides contributing to the mitigations strategies of the forests.

对森林功能的低估对于确保森林生态系统服务的可持续流动至关重要。森林生态系统的气候调节服务可以通过增加森林的碳固存来实现减排。然而，由于缺乏关于印度森林土壤养分储存和化学计量的信息，对森林固碳功能的了解受到限制。目前的研究重点是检查主要营养素的化学计量；氮 (N)、磷 (P)、碳 (C) 以了解印度北阿坎德邦森林的动态。该研究还试图补充有关森林重要树种的土壤固碳潜力的信息。在印度北阿坎德邦的喜马拉雅地区，随机收集土壤样品以评估四个海拔范围内森林土壤的理化特征和化学计量，即 <1000、1000-1500、1500-2000 和 >2000 m asl。分析表明，森林土壤中总氮、总磷和土壤有机碳含量分别为0.35±0.11%、0.10±0.04%和3.36±0.84%，且随海拔升高而增加。化学计量比，即 C:N:P、N:P、C:N 和 C:P，以及 N:P 的报告值为 51.6:5.4:1、4.30 ± 2.39、9.60 ± 1.48 和 41.94 ± 23.35 ，分别随高度不变。低 C:N 比可能是由于一氧化二氮 (N l 在印度北阿坎德邦的喜马拉雅地区。分析表明，森林土壤中总氮、总磷和土壤有机碳含量分别为0.35±0.11%、0.10±0.04%和3.36±0.84%，且随海拔升高而增加。化学计量比，即 C:N:P、N:P、C:N 和 C:P，以及 N:P 的报告值为 51.6:5.4:1、4.30 ± 2.39、9.60 ± 1.48 和 41.94 ± 23.35 ，分别随高度不变。低 C:N 比可能是由于一氧化二氮 (N l 在印度北阿坎德邦的喜马拉雅地区。分析表明，森林土壤中总氮、总磷和土壤有机碳含量分别为0.35±0.11%、0.10±0.04%和3.36±0.84%，且随海拔升高而增加。化学计量比，即 C:N:P、N:P、C:N 和 C:P，以及 N:P 报告的 51.6:5.4:1、4.30 ± 2.39、9.60 ± 1.48 和 41.94 ± 23.35 ，分别随高度不变。低 C:N 比可能是由于一氧化二氮 (N 分别为 30 ± 2.39、9.60 ± 1.48 和 41.94 ± 23.35，随海拔高度不变。低 C:N 比可能是由于一氧化二氮 (N 分别为 30 ± 2.39、9.60 ± 1.48 和 41.94 ± 23.35，它们随高度不变。低 C:N 比可能是由于一氧化二氮 (N₂ O) 排放量增加，或碳储量低导致二氧化碳 (CO ₂ ) 和甲烷 (CH ₄ ) 排放量减少。此外，森林树种的土壤固碳潜力依次为冷杉 > 雪松 > 白果栎 > 北美松。该研究的信息将有助于拓宽对森林生态系统土壤特性和化学计量的理解，除了有助于森林的缓解策略外，还将为森林管理提供帮助。