Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic composition of leaves, litter, and soils of various ecosystems along an elevational and land-use gradient at Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

. Variations in the stable isotopic composition of carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) of fresh leaves, litter, and topsoils were used to characterize soil organic matter dynamics of 12 tropical ecosystems in the Mount Kilimanjaro region, Tanzania. We studied a total of 60 sites distributed along five individual elevational transects (860–4550 m a.s.l.), which define a strong climatic and land-use gradient encompassing semi-natural and managed...