Conclusions
In this P-limited tropical forest, we found that leaf NSCs were
primarily regulated by P availability rather than N availability. Our
results suggest that the down-up regulation of leaf soluble sugar and
starch concentrations by soil P availability could be a potential
mechanism for tropical plants to adapt to low soil P conditions. Since
tropical forests are generally limited by P availability globally, a
better understanding of plant leaf NSC concentrations, and the
relationship with soil P availability ia of great importance to improve
our knowledge on how plants adapt to low-P soils.