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Leaf-level CO2 assimilation (A(area)) can largely be predicted from stomatal conductance (g(s)), leaf morphology (SLA) and nitrogen (N) content (N-area) in species across biomes and functional groups.

The effects of simulated global change scenarios, increased summer monsoon rain (+H2O), N deposition (+N) and the combination (+H2O +N), were hypothesized to affect leaf trait-photosynthesis relationships differently in the short- and long-term for the desert shrub Larrea tridentata.

During the spring, +H2O and +H2O +N plants had lower A(area) and g(s), but similar shoot water potential (Psi(shoot)) compared with control and +N plants; differences in A(area) were attributed to lower leaf N-area and g(s). During the summer, +H2O and +H2O +N plants displayed higher A(area) than control and +N plants, which was attributed to higher Psi(shoot), g(s) and SLA. Throughout the year, A(area) was strongly correlated with g(s) but weakly correlated with leaf N-area and SLA.

We concluded that increased summer monsoon had a stronger effect on the performance of Larrea than increased N deposition. In the short term, the +H2O and +H2O +N treatments were associated with increasing A(area) in summer, but also with low leaf N-area and lower A(area) in the long term the following spring.