Leaf nitrogen and phosphorus stoichiometry of the halophytes across China.

Halophytes play a crucial role in the ecological restoration of saline and alkaline land and hold promising benefits to food security in China. Although a variety of aspects of halophytes have been extensively addressed, there is still a lack of overall understanding of the leaf nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) stoichiometric characteristics, especially at a national scale. We compiled a national dataset of 311 observations from 113 sampling sites across China to explore the changing trends and influencing factors on leaf N and P concentrations, and N:P ratio of halophytes.

Root nutrient capture and leaf resorption efficiency modulated by different influential factors jointly alleviated P limitation in across the North-South Transect of Eastern China.

Soil and climatic conditions are known to have close associations with plant morphological and stoichiometric traits at a regional scale along latitudinal gradients; however, how latitude drives biotic and abiotic factors affecting plant nutrient acquisition to accommodate environmental nutrient deficiency remains unclear. We quantified soil, root, leaf, and leaf litter nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentrations to determine the potentially limiting nutrient and the simultaneous responses of root capture and leaf resorption to nutrient deficiency in seven forests across the North-South Transect of Eastern China. The results showed that the mean leaf and root N:P ratios in were 21.