Shifts in plant and soil C, N, and P concentrations and C:N:P stoichiometry associated with environmental factors in alpine marshy wetlands in West China

•Leaf and soil ecological stoichiometry vary with environmental conditions.•Depressions soil exhibited the highest C, N, and P contents and C:P and N:P ratios.•Leaf stoichiometric characteristics were positively correlated with soil moisture.•Plant community differences resulted from soil hydrological condition variations.•Soil water content was the main factor affecting leaf C, N, and P stoichiometry. Ecological stoichiometry, a novel method for predicting nutrient cycling rates in different habitats, represents the demands of an organism for natural resources and links different levels of biogeochemical cycling. In this study, plant and soil carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) concentrations, their stoichiometric characteristics (C:N, C:P, and N:P ratios), and other physicochemical properties of soil were characterized using 243 soil and 81 plant samples collected from three habitats—hummocks, depressions, and meadows—in the marshy wetlands of West China. The results showed that leaf N and P concentrations, soil C, N, and P storage and concentrations, and C:N, C:P, and N:P ratios differed significantly among the three habitats (p