Warming modulates soil multifunctionality through assembly processes and co-occurrence patterns of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities in drylands

Climate warming poses a threat to the functionality of global dryland ecosystems, while arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) communities play a critical role in maintaining ecosystem stability and functioning. However, it remains unclear how the assembly mechanisms and co-occurrence network patterns of AMF communities respond to warming and regulate soil multifunctionality. We conducted a three-year warming experiment (+0.5－1.6°C) using open-top chambers (OTCs) in the Tengger Desert to investigate the assembly processes and co-occurrence network patterns of AMF in the rhizosphere soil of dominant shrubs, Artemisia ordosica and Caragana korshinskii. By measuring 15 soil functional indicators (including nutrient availability, biogeochemical cycles, microbial activity, and microbial productivity), we constructed a soil multifunctionality index and employed structural equation modeling (SEM) to uncover the mechanisms by which AMF communities regulate soil multifunctionality. Our results show..., Study site and field experimental design
Samples were collected at the Shapotou Desert Research and Experiment Station of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (SDRES, CAS; 37°32′ N, 105°02′ E), located on the southeastern edge of the Tengger Desert in North China. The mean annual temperature at an altitude of 1330 m over the past ten years is approximately 8.6°C, ranging from mean average temperatures of -6.9°C in winter (January) to 24.3°C in summer (July). The mean annual precipitation is approximately 186 mm, with 80% falling during the warmer growing season (May－September). Long-term observations from SDRES (1955–2016) show that the average annual temperature has increased by 0.5°C while the average annual precipitation has decreased by 4 mm over the last decade (Li et al., 2021; Li et al., 2023).
The experimental design of this site has been described in detail in previous studies (Li et al., 2021; Li et al., 2023). In brief, the open-top chambers (OTCs) were deployed in the field in 20..., # Warming modulates soil multifunctionality through assembly processes and co-occurrence patterns of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities in drylands

Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.7m0cfxq7n](10.5061/dryad.7m0cfxq7n)

## Description of the data and file structure

This dataset contains data collected during a three-year field warming experiment (+0.5-1.6°C) conducted in the Tengger Desert, China, using Open-Top Chambers (OTCs). The study investigated the effects of warming on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) communities in the rhizosphere soil of two dominant shrub species (*Artemisia ordosica* and *Caragana korshinskii*), and their links to soil multifunctionality. Data includes: (1) AMF community composition data derived from high-throughput sequencing (e.g., OTU/ASV tables, taxonomy), (2) measurements of 15 individual soil functional indicators related to nutrient availability, biogeochemical cycles, microbial activity, and productivity, (3) calculated soil multifunctionality i...,