The coupling of leaf, litter, and soil nutrients in warm temperate forests in northwestern China

The nutrient ecological stoichiometry of plants and soil is important for the growth and dynamics of species, but the stoichiometric relationships among leaf, litter, and soil remain poorly understood. We analyzed the carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) stoichiometry of the leaves, litter, and soil for 31 species at 140 sites in warm temperate forests in northwestern China to document the patterns of nutrient traits and their relationships with climatic factors. The average concentrations of C, N, and P in the combined forests were 462.97, 18.04, and 1.32 g kg−1 for leaves, 365.12, 12.34, and 0.87 g kg−1 for litter, and 15.72, 1.29, and 0.54 g kg−1 for soil, respectively. The concentrations differed significantly among the leaves, litter, and soil. Leaf and soil nutrients were not significantly correlated, whereas leaf and litter nutrients and litter and soil nutrients were significantly correlated, indicating that litter provided a link between leaves and soil and demonstrating the nutrient associations among leaves, litter, and soil. Soil nutrients were strongly correlated with climatic factors, and precipitation had a larger impact than temperature on the plants and soil. This study will help to predict the growth and dynamics of species under environmental changes.