Global climate and nutrient controls of photosynthetic capacity

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 °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.