Table 1. Basic geography, vegetation and soil along the four subalpine and alpine forests in the Bipenggou Nature Reserve, Sichuan, China.

	Elevation (m)	Aspect	Slope	Vegetation	Soil
Site 1	3582	NE45°	34°	Tree canopy dominated by Abies faxoniana(∼120 years age) with dominated understoryRhododendron delavayi and Berberis spp.	Cambisols with A–C layers, 15±2 cm organic layer, pH 6.2
Site 2	3298	NE42°	31°
Site 3	3023	NE38°	24°	Tree canopy dominated by Abies faxoniana (∼70 years age) with dominated understory Fargesia spathacea	Cambisols with A–C layers, 12±1 cm organic layer, pH 6.5
Site 4	2704	NE36°	35°	Tree canopy dominated by Betula albosinensis andPicea asperata (∼60 years age) with dominatedunderstory Fargesia nitida	Cambisols with oA–C layers, 12±1 cm organic layer, pH 6.3