Feast or famine: how Australian plants stay productive under low phosphorus

磷(P)在全国各地的土壤中供应不足，限制了澳大利亚景观以及世界各地许多热带雨林的植物产量。稀缺的磷是如何限制光合作用的，目前还不得而知。我们将确定澳大利亚植物如何在叶片和土壤中磷浓度较低的情况下实现高磷利用效率。我们将综合植物如何在低磷情况下维持生产力的知识，并告知全球模型如何表示磷的生物地球化学和光合作用，以改进C周期估计。对植物光合作用和磷节约机制的理解应该会通过改进生态模型和加强初级生产管理来带来好处。

Phosphorus (P) is in low supply in soils around the nation, and limits plant production in the Australian landscape, as well as for many tropical forests worldwide. How scarce P restricts photosynthetic capacity has remained elusive. We will determine how Australian plants achieve high phosphorus-use efficiency despite low P concentrations in leaves and soils. We will synthesise knowledge of how plants maintain productivity with low P availability, and inform global models how to represent P biogeochemistry and photosynthesis to improve C-cycle estimates. The understanding of plant photosynthetic and P-saving mechanisms that emerge should provide benefits through improved ecological models and enhanced management of primary production.