Abstract: This study investigated the biomasses and the soil physical-chemical properties of the poplar plantations and the desert shrubbery communities around the artificial forest in Karamay. The study came with the following conclusions. First, the biomass of the understory vegetation layer and the litter layer of the poplar plantations was 5.87 t·hm^-2; the biomass of the desert shrubby communities around the plantations was 0.74 t·hm^-2. The biomass of the plantations was significantly higher than the biomass of the desert shrubbery communities around the plantations. Second, soil nutrients in the different soil layers within the plantations were lower than the biomass in the relative soil layers in the desert while the soil bulk density increased and the soil moisture significantly increased. Third, the soil organic matter of the plantation was lower than that of the desert. The topsoil of the plantation decreased 8.83% compared with the desert. However, the soil organic matters of the plantation at the soil depths of 10-30 cm and 30-50 cm increased 20.74% and 33.13% respectively compared with the desert. Fourth, within the plantations, there was a significant and positive correlation between organic matter of the litter and the soil moisture of each soil layers but no correlation between the soil organic matter and the soil nutrients.

Key words: artificial forest, biomass, soil physical-chemical properties, Karamay, Xinjiang