Precipitation is the main factor affecting the variation of foliar nitrogen isotope composition in two leguminous shrub species of northwestern China.

An increase in foliar nitrogen isotope composition (δ15N) with decreasing precipitation has been shown to occur widely in non-N2-fixing plant species. However, similar patterns have not been identified in N2-fixing species. Here, we tested the relationships of foliar δ15N with local environmental factors and leaf properties in two leguminous shrub species (Caragana korshinskii and Caragana liouana) sampled from 30 populations. Results indicated that the mean annual precipitation (MAP) primarily accounted for the variation of foliar δ15N in the two species. Further analysis revealed strong negative correlations between foliar δ15N and MAP within and across species. These results suggest that the foliar δ15N of leguminous shrub species also shift along precipitation gradients, which augments our understanding of the relationships between foliar δ15N and climatic factors.