Aims: Nitrogen (N) deposition alters plant stoichiometry and the state of nutrient limitation in forest ecosystems. In subtropical forests of China, responses of plants stoichiometry to chronically elevated and recently declined N deposition remain unclear. Methods: A 14-year investigation of needle elements, including N, phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and aluminum (Al), was carried out under field N manipulation (10-year N addition and subsequent cessation of N addition) in a typical, subtropical Masson pine (Pinus massoniana Lamb.) forest in southwest China. Results: Needle N and P concentrations were significantly elevated by N addition even after N addition ceased while needle N:P remained constant among treatments. Needle N:K and P:K were significantly elevated by N addition, but were no longer different from reference plots after N addition ceased. Masson pine's annual relative growth rate (RGR) was significantly decreased by N addition but the differences among treatments became insignificant among treatments after N addition ceased. Additionally, the annual RGR was negatively correlated with needle Al concentration. Needle Al exhibited a trend of first rising and then decreasing over the 14-year experiment. Conclusions: Under the background of high ambient N deposition and Ca deposition, chronic N addition does not aggravate P limitation but can result in K limitation in a N-saturated subtropical forest. With the recovery of subtropical forest from soil acidification and N saturation, the elevated needle N and P induced by N addition will persist for at least four years and most likely for much longer in the future, but the risk of K limitation is expected to diminish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]