Interacting effects of water availability, conspecific density and ectomycorrhizal fungi on the traits and growth of a dominant Dipterocarp

The datasets including seedling biomass, the 11 functional traits of Parashorea chinensis , and the soil soil ectomycorrhizal fungi richness and abandunce for all treatments.A total of 10 experimental blocks were randomly distributed in the greenhouse with 12 treatments in each block (3 seedling densities × 2 level of watering × 2 fungicide treatments). We used 120 plastic pots filled primarily with commercially sterilized humus soil provided by the botanical garden. A total of 440 seedlings of P. chinensis were used in this study and each seedling was tagged. Seedlings were randomly distributed into treatments with no difference in seedling size between treatments at the start. The experiment ended after one year and all seedlings were harvested in April 2022. The harvested seedlings were taken to the lab in order to measure biomass and quantify several functional traits. Specifically, we measured 11 functional traits: leaf chlorophyll content, leaf area, leaf thickness, specific leaf area, leaf dry matter content, stem dry matter content, stem density, root dry matter content, specific root length, specific root area, and the root-to-shoot ratio. During the seedling harvest, fresh soil samples were collected for soil fungal community sequencing to test the abundance and richness of ectomycorrhizae.