Nutrient contents
The range of fast-slow return trade-offs for plants is strongly related to nutrient regimes, where fast growing species are commonly adapted to nutrient rich sites (Wrightet al. 2004). However, few studies have compared interspecific variation in plant nutrient concentrations to pathogen attack (Marquis et al.2001). The majority of studies on the relationship between plant nutrient status and pathogenicity have focused on fertilization effects on agricultural crops , primarily for nitrogen (Walters & Bingham 2007; Dordas 2008; Veresoglou et al. 2013). Nitrogen status can affect pathogen susceptibility of plants in two ways; plant tissue quality and production of secondary metabolites (Hoffland et al.2000). Nutrient rich tissues are often more susceptible to diseases either because they are less well defended or they are more nutrient dense for the pathogen; however, N-limitation can weaken plant immunity and may be a cue for development of disease symptoms by some pathogens (Snoeijers et al.2000). Results may differ when comparing nutrient content across species and fertilization effects on a single species. Hantsch et al. (2014) found no effect of tree species differences in foliar carbon and nitrogen on pathogen load, while prior studies on intraspecific variation showed higher leaf nitrogen was associated with increased disease (El-Hajj et al.2004; McElrone et al. 2005). Laliberté et al. (2015) proposed that there is a trade-off in phosphorus acquisition and soil pathogen attack suggesting that plants adapted for phosphorus limited soils have poorly defended roots. However, mycorrhizal associations may ameliorate such susceptibility.