A pot experiment was conducted to study the effects of application of four fertilizers,nitrogen fertilizer (NF),compound fertilizer (CF),organic fertilizer (OF) and mixed fertilizer (MF),on 1-year-old Phoebe zhennan seedlings.Each fertilizer was applied at three levels based on the annual nitrigen application rate,namely,low (L,0.3 g/pail ),medium (M,0.6 g/pail ) and high (H,0.9 g/pail),which was divided into three equal parts and applied into pail in the middle of May,July and September,respectively.The morphological and photosynthetic indicators of P.zhennan seedlings were measured after a month of fertilization to explore the effects of fertilizer application on photosynthetic and growth characteristics of the seedlings.The results showed that:(1)The medium nitrogen application rate showed the greatest promoting effects on the growth of P.zhennan seedlings for the 3 types of fertilizers,and when comparison was conducted between fertilizer types,CF acted the worst,NF acted well only at early stage (May-June),MF application reflected a relative lack of nutrient in the late phase (September-October),while OF was able to provide nutrients for the seedlings more continuously;(2)Fertilization functioned well in promoting chlorophyll synthesis,extending the functional period of green leaves,and enhancing net photosynthetic rate of P.zhennan seedlings,wherein OF and MF performed more effectively,coupled with the photosynthetic capacity of seedlings improved under an environment of strong light,high CO₂ concentration;(3)In addition to CF,application of other three kinds of fertilizers has increased the height and diameter growth of P.zhennan seedlings to varying degrees,with the greatest stimulation observed in OF at medium application rate (M_OF),which displaying an increment twice as much as that of CK.As can be seen,M_OF is the best choice in the fertilizer management of P.zhennan seedlings.