Abstract:Soil fertility is a comprehensive indicator of soil physical, chemical and biological properties and is an important factor determining forest productivity. Michelia macclurei is an important native tree species in southern China. Due to its fast growth, excellent wood quality and good soil improvement effect, it is often used as an associate tree species to mix with timber tree species such as Pinus massoniana, Cunninghamia lanceolata and Eucalyptus to improve soil fertility and increase forest productivity in artificial forests. However, the impact of M. macclurei on soil physical, chemical and biological properties in artificial forests is still unclear, and the mechanism of its improvement of soil fertility is still lacking. The current research status of M. macclurei in improving soil fertility in artificial forests from three aspects were systematically reviewed: soil physical and chemical properties, soil microbial community characteristics and soil nutrient cycling, and preliminarily clarifies the key pathways for improving soil fertility. At the same time, through integration and quantitative analysis methods, the effects of pure forests and M. macclurei mixed forests on soil fertility in artificial forests at two soil depths of 0-20 cm and 20-40 cm are studied. It was believed that M. macclurei had the potential to be a soil improvement tree species, and the potential mechanism of its improvement of soil fertility is revealed.