Mycorrhizal symbiosis increases plant phylogenetic diversity and regulate community assembly

The intricate mechanisms shaping plant diversity and community composition are the cornerstone of ecological understanding.  Yet, the role of mycorrhizal symbiosis, the fundamental partnership between fungi and plant roots, in influencing community composition has often been underestimated.  Here, we use extensive species survey data from 1,315 terrestrial ecosystem sites to elucidate the influence of mycorrhizal symbiosis on plant phylogenetic diversity and its implications for community assembly processes.  Our findings demonstrate that increasing mycorrhizal symbiotic potential leads to greater phylogenetic dispersion within plant communities. Furthermore, we unveil a distinct dichotomy in the assembly processes governed by mycorrhizal status. Mycorrhizal species predominantly influence deterministic processes, suggesting a role in niche-based community assembly.  Conversely, non-mycorrhizal species exert a stronger influence on stochastic processes, highlighting the importance of ra..., Filed survey and data collection
This study utilized field survey data collected from 1315 sites across various grassland ecosystems in China.  Vegetation surveys were conducted during the peak plant growth season, specifically from mid-July to August in middle and high latitude regions, including the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, and from August to September in desert, subtropical, and tropical regions.  At each site, plant community data was collected using ten 1m × 1m quadrats (reduced to 0.5m × 0.5m for meadow and alpine meadow) located randomly within a 100m × 100m area.   For shrubland ecosystems, five 5m × 5m quadrats were randomly placed within the same 100m × 100m area.  Five of the ten quadrats (or all five quadrats in shrublands) were randomly selected for detailed vegetation analysis. Within these selected quadrats, plant species richness (SR) and species relative abundance were recorded.  Soil samples were collected from each quadrat using a soil core method at a depth of 20 cm...., , # Mycorrhizal symbiosis increases plant phylogenetic diversity and regulate community assembly

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.rbnzs7hm4](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.rbnzs7hm4)

This study utilizes extensive field survey data from 1,315 grassland sites across China to examine the effects of mycorrhizal colonization on community phylogenetic diversity and assembly processes. For each site, the data include site ID, grassland type, dominant mycorrhiza type of community, mean annual temperature (MAT), mean diurnal range (MDR), mean annual precipitation MAP), longitude, latitude, elevation, slope, fraction of photosynthetically active radiation (fPAR), soil pH, Soil organic carbon (SOC) content, soil total nitrogen (TN), soil total phosphorus (TP), mycorrhiza index (MI), species richness (SR), mean pairwise distance (MPD), mean nearest taxon distance (MNTD), standardized effect size metrics for MPD (SESMPD), and standardized effect size metrics for MNTD (SESMNTD).

In this Dryad repositor...