Data for: European mushroom assemblages are phylogenetically structured by temperature

Recent global warming affects species compositions at an unprecedented
rate. To predict climate-induced changes in species assemblages, a better
understanding of the link between species occurrence and climate is
needed. Macrofungal fruit body assemblages are correlated with the thermal
environment at the European scale. However, it is still unknown whether
macrofungal communities are also phylogenetically structured by thermal
environments. Thermal environments are characterized by annual temperature
means but also by intra-annual temperature variability (hereafter termed
temperature seasonality), which are both considered in this study. Here,
we used distribution data of 2,882 species based on fruit body records
across Europe to address two main questions: (i) Are mushroom assemblages
at the extremes of the mean (warm and cold) and seasonal (high
intra-annual variability, i.e. continental) climate gradient
phylogenetically more similar than expected (phylogenetic alpha
diversity); (ii) are mushroom assemblages, that are subject to different
mean and seasonal temperature conditions, composed of different lineages
(phylogenetic beta diversity). Our phylogenetic alpha diversity analysis
shows that mushroom assemblages are phylogenetically structured by warm
and cold environments, indicating that phylogenetically related species
with similar traits thrive under more extreme conditions. In contrast,
assemblages are phylogenetically more dissimilar (overdispersed) in
temperature seasonal environments, indicating limiting similarity.
Phylogenetic beta diversity was significantly correlated with mean and
seasonal temperature differences, a response mainly driven by a few
genera. Our results show that macrofungal assemblages are phylogenetically
structured by temperature across Europe, suggesting phylogenetically
constrained specialization towards temperature extremes. Predicted
anthropogenic warming is likely to affect species composition and
phylogenetic diversity with additional consequences for the carbon- and
nutrient cycles.