Abstract: In this study, soil samples at different depths were collected from riparian zones of Puhe ecological area, urban area, town area and rural area. Using excitation-emission matrix spectroscopy (EEMs) combined with absolute principal component analysis (APCA) and parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC), the spectral characteristics of soil humus in riparian zones were identified. Two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy was used to analyze the spatial variation of their components, and partial least squares structural equation modeling (SEM) to reveal the response relationships between the sources, composition and physicochemical properties of soil humus. The results showed: 1) The fluorescence intensity of humus increased with the increase of soil depth in the riparian soils of the ecological area, town area and rural area, while the vertical variation showed no obvious pattern in the urban area. 2) The soil humus spectrum contained five fluorescent components (C1-C5), with C1 and C2 being ultraviolet fulvic-acid and visible fulvic-acid, C3 being microbial metabolite, and C4 and C5 being ultraviolet humic acid and visible humic acid. The ecological area was mainly composed of C3 and C4 (54.71%±4.74%), while the urban area and town area were dominated by C3 and C2 (51.57%±3.09%), and the rural area was primarily made up of C3 and C5 (52.96%±12.69%). 3) The ultraviolet fulvic-acid and ultraviolet humic acid changed preferentially with soil depth in the urban area, mainly due to the influence of non-point source pollution (e.g. industrial and domestic sources), while the variation trends of fluorescence components in the other three areas were opposite to those in the urban area, affected by multiple factors including plant metabolism, terrestrial soil and agricultural runoff. 4) The riparian soils in the ecological area and town area had more fresh organic matter and relatively higher degree of humification (HIX=21.25±1.92), whereas the soil humus in the urban area and rural area had relatively weaker autochthonous sources and lower humification (HIX=19.55±3.24). 5) The sources and compositions of humus were significantly correlated with soil physicochemical indicators, and the latter had a greater impact on these properties than the former. This study unraveled the spatial distributions of soil humus in riparian across diverse land-uses, along with their response mechanisms to the soil environment, thus offering a scientific foundation for the ecological restoration and development of riparian zones.