Potential Hypotheses Predicting Leaf Litter Nitrogen and Phosphorus Patterns at the Global Scale.

ABSTRACT: Climate has shaped green leaf nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) patterns through its direct physiological effects (Temperature-Plant Physiology hypothesis), indirect pathways involving soil nutrients (Soil Substrate Age hypothesis), or vegetation composition (Species Composition hypothesis). However, the efficiencies of these hypotheses and the relative importance of the factors involved in predicting leaf litter N and P remain unresolved. We evaluated these hypotheses by analyzing 4657 global observations of leaf litter N and P concentrations and N/P ratios, demonstrating that litter stoichiometries diverged in plant functional types, and that litter N and N/P ratios declined with latitude, while P increased. The validity of each hypothesis in predicting latitudinal pat

SUBMITTER: Xie Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12608345 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature