Mature leaves and litterfall were collected between November 1992 and February 1993 from one to three individuals of five canopy tree species of a lower montane rain forest (LMRF) at 1850 m. and five canopy tree species of an upper montane rain forest (UMRF) at 2800 m. in the Central Andes of Colombia, to determine the concentrations and percentage retranslocation of nitrogen and phosphorus. The availability of these two nutrients was measured in the soils, by means of extracts of NH3-NH4, NO2-NO3 and PO4, and