We tested the hypothesis that plant-soil feedbacks along a climatic and elevation gradient influence plant community assembly through shifts in habitat suitability, which drive plant functional, phylogenetic, and spectral diversity in a high mountain system (2400-3500 m) of Region Metropolitana in the Chilean Andes (33 degrees S, 70 degrees W). We found that leaf nitrogen increased with increasing elevation, and taxonomic and functional diversity associated with turnover in lineages peaked at mid-elevations, indicating that the ability to acquire and retain nitrogen in colder temperatures may be important in plant community assembly in this range. Such environmental filters have important implications for forecasting shifts in alpine plant communities under a warming climate.image