<b>Legacies of prolonged drought and altered rainfall patterns strongly influences soil microbial dynamics and litter decomposition in drylands</b>

The provided dataset includes metadata files with environmental variables, litter decomposition rates, family-level bacterial and fungal ASVs, and the relative abundance of bacterial and fungal families linked to decomposition processes. This study investigates the impact of rainfall variability on litter decomposition in drylands, focusing on shifts in key microbial decomposers—bacteria and fungi. Additionally, it explores the legacy effects of prolonged drought on microbial communities and their subsequent influence on dryland ecosystem functions, particularly through changes in litter decomposition dynamics.