Leaf phosphorus fractions vary with leaf economic traits among 35 Australian woody species.

Adaptations of plants to phosphorus (P) deficiency include reduced investment of leaf P in storage (orthophosphates in vacuoles), nucleic acids and membrane lipids. Yet, it is unclear how these adaptations are associated with plant ecological strategies. Five leaf P fractions (orthophosphate P, P ; metabolite P, P ; nucleic acid P, P ; lipid P, P ; and residual P, P ) were analysed alongside leaf economic traits among 35 Australian woody species from three habitats: one a high-P basalt-derived soil and two low-P sandstone-derived soils, one undisturbed and one disturbed by human activities with artificial P inputs. Species at the undisturbed low-P site generally exhibited lower concentrations of total leaf P ([P ]), primarily associated with lower concentrations of P , and P . The relative allocation of P to each fraction varied little among sites, except that higher P per [P ] (rP ) was recorded at the undisturbed low-P site than at the high-P site. This higher rP , reflecting relative allocation to membranes, was primarily associated with lower concentrations of leaf nitrogen at the undisturbed low-P site than at the high-P site. Associations between leaf P fractions and leaf nitrogen may provide a basis for understanding the variation in plant ecological strategies dependent on soil P availability.