Elevational Patterns and Drivers of Leaf Carbon, Nitrogen, and Phosphorus Stoichiometry in an Alpine-Gorge Region on the Eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

The study aimed to reveal the elevational patterns and drivers of leaf carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) concentrations and their stoichiometry at both the individual and community levels in the alpine-gorge region on the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Based on the datasets of leaf C, N and P concentrations from 665 field samples and information on plant community structure from 150 plots along the elevation, linear mixed model and general linear model were used to identify drivers of leaf C, N, and P concentrations and their stoichiometry at the individual and community levels, respectively. Leaf C, N, and P concentrations and their stoichiometry showed a linear elevation pattern at the individual level and a nonlinear elevation pattern at the community level. At the individual level, elevational variations in leaf C, N, and P concentrations and their stoichiometry were determined mainly by plant taxonomy and growth forms. At the community level, interspecific variation was larger than intraspecific variation for leaf C, N concentrations, and C/N, whereas intraspecific variation was larger than interspecific variation for leaf N/P. The interspecific variation in leaf C, N, and P concentrations and their stoichiometry was affected jointly by edaphic and climatic factors, whereas edaphic factors mainly drove their intraspecific variation. This study indicated that both intraspecific and interspecific variation play critical roles in adjusting leaf ecological stoichiometry to increase the resilience and tolerance of the community to environmental change in the alpine-gorge region on the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.