Soil fertility and soil nutrient cycling is more like an applied discipline in the soil science, with a long history and a huge volume of literature accumulation. It plays an important role in assessing and exploiting the soil resources, enhancing crop production and nutrient use efficiency, and reducing environmental loads of non-point source of pollutants from croplands. During the 14th five-year-plan period, it is essential to strengthen researches on processes, rates, products, and influencing factors of the nutrient transformation in the soil, the basis of soil fertility and soil nutrient cycling. In view of the fact that the agriculture is developing towards a two-pole structure, that is, the cropping of staple crops, such as rice, wheat, and maize, declining in intensity, and the facilitated farming, such as plastic film-sheds and greenhouses, rapidly expanding in area in China, and in response to the calls of the nation for reduction of the environmental loads of non-point source pollutants and maintenance of safety of the eco-environment, it is crucial to intensify researches on the following topics in the sub-discipline of soil fertility and soil nutrient cycling, during the 14th five-year-plan period. i.e. 1) impacts of turning intensive cropping into fallow and crop rotation on soil fertility, and principles, pathways and methods of the practice maintaining and improving soil fertility; 2) principles, pathways and methods of scientific management of rapidly restoration of soil fertility, maintenance of soil health, and effectively utilization of soil nutrients under a highly intensive cropping system; and 3) basic scientific issues, like how to harmonize the relationships between soil, crops and environment, how to bring soil fertility into full play and how to efficiently utilize soil nutrients.