Global climate and nutrient controls of photosynthetic capacity

There is huge uncertainty about how global exchanges of carbon between the atmosphere and land will respond to continuing environmental change. A better representation of photosynthetic capacity is required for Earth System models to simulate carbon assimilation reliably. Here we use a global leaf-trait dataset to test whether photosynthetic capacity is quantitatively predictable from climate, based on optimality principles; and to explore how this prediction is modified by soil properties, including indices of nitrogen and phosphorus availability, measured in situ. The maximum rate of carboxylation standardized to 25 degrees C (V-cmax25) was found to be proportional to growing-season irradiance, and to increase-as predicted-towards both colder and drier climates. Individual species' departures from predicted V-cmax25 covaried with area-based leaf nitrogen (N-area) but community-mean V-cmax25 was unrelated to N-area, which in turn was unrelated to the soil C:N ratio. In contrast, leaves with low area-based phosphorus (P-area) had low V-cmax25 (both between and within communities), and P-area increased with total soil P. These findings do not support the assumption, adopted in some ecosystem and Earth System models, that leaf-level photosynthetic capacity depends on soil N supply. They do, however, support a previously-noted relationship between photosynthesis and soil P supply. Yunke Peng et al. use in-situ measurements and leaf trait data at 266 global sites for 1637 species and find that the maximum rate of carboxylation standardized to 25 degrees C is proportional to growing-season irradiance, and covaries with area-based leaf nitrogen and area-based phosphorus on the species level. These results challenge the assumption that leaf-level photosynthetic capacity depends on soil N supply yet supports the relationship between photosynthesis and soil P supply.

Automated summary

Yunke Peng et al. use in-situ measurements and leaf trait data at 266 global sites for 1637 species and find that the maximum rate of carboxylation standardized to 25 degrees C is proportional to growing-season irradiance, and covaries with area-based leaf nitrogen and area-based phosphorus on the species level. These results challenge the assumption that leaf-level photosynthetic capacity depends on soil N supply yet supports the relationship between photosynthesis and soil P supply.