Abstract:Pinus tabuliformis on ridge as one of the typical plant communities plays an important role in biodiversity maintenance and ecological service function achievement. The objective of this study was to understand how leaf functional traits responded to altitudinal gradients. Ten P. tabuliformis on ridge traits were researched with typical sampling method in this study. The results showed that: (1) leaf length(LL), leaf nitrogen content(LNC), leaf phosphorus content(LPC) of 1-3yearold leaf and chlorophyll concentration of 1yearold leaf of P. tabuliformis on ridge were below nonridge. However, the leaf dry matter content(LDMC) and stomata density(SD) of 1yearold leaf of P. tabuliformis on ridge were higher than nonridge. (2) The leaf funcation traits of P. tabuliformis on ridge, including leaf thickness(LT), specific leaf area (SLA) of 1-3yearold leaf, LPC of 1yearold leaf increased linearly with increasing elevation, but LL, LDMC, leaf carbon concentration (LCC), Chl(a+b) of 1-3yearold leaf, SD of 1yearold leaf decreased significantly with increasing elevation. (3) LNC was positively correlated with LPC of 1-3yearold leaf; LDMC negatively correlated with LPC of 1-2yearold leaf; LL was positively correlated with LNC, LPC of 2-3yearold leaf; LKC was positively correlated with LNC, LPC of 2-3yearold leaf. The unique habitat condition of the ridge has created the unique growth strategy of P. tabuliformis. P. tabuliformis on the ridge showed diversified adaptive strategies to adapting varing environmental factors associated with changes in altitude.