Abstract Internal nutrient recycling, such as leaf nutrient resorption, serves as an important strategy for plants to optimise their growth and survival on nutrient‐poor soils. Phosphorus resorption efficiency (P RE ) varies widely (20%–90%) among species living on P‐poor soils. However, the key drivers behind this local variation are poorly understood. We hypothesised that two traits would drive variation in P RE among species at a site characterised by chronically low soil P (total soil P of 84 ppm): leaf lifespan (LL) and the proportion of leaf P in ‘labile’ fractions that are easily resorbed. Labile P concentration, P labile , is comprised of inorganic phosphates and soluble phosphorylated metabolites. To test this hypothesis and gain a wider understanding of how leaf nutrient resorption varies locally, we quantified a set of related traits for 14 common woody species in a species‐rich but nutrient‐poor sclerophyll woodland community at Davies Park in the Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia. These traits were LL, P labile , green and senesced leaf N and P concentrations and P resorption efficiency (P RE ). Supporting our hypothesis, LL explained >50% variation in leaf P RE . Similarly, P RE was strongly and positively associated ( R 2 > 60%) with the allocation of green leaf P to P labile . The LL‐P RE relationship was mainly driven by lower senesced leaf P than green leaf P. The local soil P availability explained 60% variation in green leaf P. Overall, this study highlights the combination of traits leading to greater internal recycling of P, including high P RE , long LL and high allocation of leaf P to P labile , in species‐rich, nutrient‐poor ecosystems. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
Dhakal et al. (Mon,) studied this question.
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