Data from: Long-term experimental warming alters community composition of ascomycetes in Alaskan moist and dry arctic tundra

Arctic tundra regions have been responding to global warming with visible
changes in plant community composition, including expansion of shrubs and
declines in lichens and bryophytes. Even though it is well-known that the
majority of arctic plants are associated with their symbiotic fungi, how
fungal community composition will be different with climate warming
remains largely unknown. In this study, we addressed the effects of
long-term (18 years) experimental warming on the community composition and
taxonomic richness of soil ascomycetes in dry and moist tundra types.
Using deep Ion Torrent sequencing we quantified how OTU assemblage and
richness of different orders of Ascomycota changed in response to summer
warming. Experimental warming significantly altered ascomycete communities
with stronger responses observed in the moist tundra compared to dry
tundra. The proportion of several lichenized and moss-associated fungi
decreased with warming, while the proportion of several plant and insect
pathogens and saprotrophic species was higher in the warming treatment.
The observed alterations in both taxonomic and ecological groups of
ascomycetes are discussed in relation to previously reported
warming-induced shifts in arctic plant communities, including decline in
lichens and bryophytes and increase in coverage and biomass of shrubs.