Nitrogen and phosphorus availability interact to modulate leaf trait scaling relationships across six plant functional types in a controlled-environment study

Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) have key roles in leaf metabolism, resulting in a strong coupling of chemical composition traits to metabolic rates in field-based studies. However, in such studies, it is difficult to disentangle the effects of nutrient supply per se on trait–trait relationships.
Our study assessed how high and low N (5 mM and 0.4 mM, respectively) and P (1 mM and 2 μM, respectively) supply in 37 species from six plant functional types (PTFs) affected photosynthesis (A) and respiration (R) (in darkness and light) in a controlled environment.
Low P supply increased scaling exponents (slopes) of area-based log–log A–N or R–N relationships when N supply was not limiting, whereas there was no P effect under low N supply. By contrast, scaling exponents of A–P and R–P relationships were altered by P and N supply. Neither R : A nor light inhibition of leaf R was affected by nutrient supply. Light inhibition was 26% across nutrient treatments; herbaceous species exhibited a lower degree of light inhibition than woody species.
Because N and P supply modulates leaf trait−trait relationships, the next generation of terrestrial biosphere models may need to consider how limitations in N and P availability affect trait−trait relationships when predicting carbon exchange.