Ectomycorrhizal communities in three Fagus sylvatica forests

We assessed the effect of water availability reduction in root water-uptake in three beech (Fagus sylvatica) forests in Nothern Spain in their warm distribution limit (with contrasting geographic locations and mean annual precipitation) and their symbiotic association with ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi . We collected soil, stem and root samples in spring (wet) and summer (dry) to quantify fine-root density and ECM fungal colonization, to infer RWU from isotopic composition of plant and soil water, and to characterize ECM fungal communities through Illumina DNA-metabarcoding of ECM tips.