Elevation, soil pH, and calcium availability shape regional and local scale spatial patterns of PhoD gene abundance in tropical and subtropical forests

Organic phosphorus mineralization is a critical process in the phosphorus cycle, governing phosphorus bioavailability for plants. The PhoD gene, which encodes the key enzyme alkaline phosphatase, serves as a valuable biomarker for this process. Soil microbes harboring the PhoD gene mediate this process by secreting extracellular alkaline phosphatases. This gene is widespread across diverse bacterial phyla, and its significance has been extensively reported in agroecosystems, particularly in response to fertilizer inputs. However, the spatial distribution of the PhoD gene in natural ecosystems along environmental gradients and its consequent effects on phosphorus dynamics remain unclear. We investigated the spatial distribution of the PhoD gene abundance across 20-ha study areas in tropical (Nabanhe, Bubeng) and subtropical (Ailaoshan) forests spanning broad elevation gradients but narrow latitudinal ranges. Our objectives were to: (a) characterize its spatial patterns, (b) identify the ..., , # Elevation, soil pH, and calcium availability shape regional and local scale spatial patterns of PhoD gene abundance in tropical and subtropical forests

Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.70rxwdccp](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.70rxwdccp)

## Description of the data and file structure

The attached file contains the data used in the paper \"Elevation, soil pH and calcium availability shape regional and local scale spatial patterns of PhoD gene abundance in tropical and subtropical forests\" by Sandhya Mishra*, Shangwen Xia, Wenting Wang, Xiaodong Yang* - Functional Ecology

### Files and variables

#### File name: Dataset.csv

**Description:** 

Variables of data

Datasheet 1 contains data from three forest sites in Yunnan, China: Nabanhe, Bubeng, and Ailaoshan. Each site comprises 260 spatially referenced sampling points collected across a 20‑hectare study area. Samples are named with site-specific prefixes: NB1–NB260 (Nabanhe), BB1–BB260 (Bubeng), and AL1–AL260 (Ailaoshan).

Sheet 1. Named ...,