Abstract: To improve the soil fertility of degraded Leymus chinensis steppe, influences of fertilization and root cutting on soil physicochemical properties and enzyme activities were studied. Key results were: 1) Soil organic carbon, total phosphorus, C/N, electrical conductivity and pH were not affected by fertilization and root cutting, but soil total nitrogen was reduced 14.5% by root cutting. 2) Grassland where root cutting was performed had higher soil enzymatic activity than fertilized grassland, and soil urease activity was responsive to agricultural practices, ranging from 0.82-2.26 mg $NH_{4}^{+}$ ·g^-1 ·3 h^-1. 3) Soil organic carbon level was positively correlated with soil total nitrogen, C∶N ratio, ammonium nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen and available nitrogen, but was negatively correlated with total phosphorus, electrical conductivity, pH and enzymatic activities. Hence, fertilization and root cutting improved soil available nutrients in degraded L. chinensis steppe, and root cutting provided an additional benefit of increased soil enzymatic activities, which may also contribute to the increase in soil nutrient transformation.

Key words: degraded Leymus chinensis steppe, fertilization, root cutting, soil physicochemical properties, soil enzymatic activities