Soil and climate effects on leaf nitrogen and phosphorus stoichiometry along elevational gradients

Abstracts: Leaf nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentrations are critical to plant metabolic processes and growth. Understanding the contribution of climate and soil nutrients on leaf nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations across plant life-forms (trees, shrubs, and herbs) remains incomplete, especially along elevational gradients. To investigate these effects, we combined data from the Plant Trait (TRY) database, containing 528 species distributions, with elevation, climate and soil information for each study site. Results show that leaf N and P content were significantly correlated with elevation (P