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.