Data of the study Host age and surrounding vegetation affect the community and colonisation rates of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in a temperate grassland

This dataset supplements our paper published in New Phytologist, in which we ask following questions: What effects does the ontogenetic stage of host plants have and do these effects differ between plant functional groups? Are the AMF communities modified by the properties of surrounding vegetation, such as the proportion of different functional groups or non-mycorrhizal plants? We addressed these questions in a temperate grassland and studied AMF communities using next-generation sequencing and light microscopy, evaluating their composition, taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional diversity, functional traits, and root colonisation levels. We found important differences of AMF communities and their diversity between seedlings and adults, larger than the differences among host species or between functional groups. The proportion of non-mycorrhizal plants in the surrounding affected AMF community composition and increased its richness. Our results highlight the need for further investigating the existence of a common mycelial networks. The decision to use seedlings for experimental work can affect the results more than the chosen host species.本数据集补充了我们发表于《新植物学家（New Phytologist）》的论文研究内容，该论文围绕两大科学问题展开：宿主植物的个体发育阶段会产生何种影响，且此类影响在不同植物功能群之间是否存在差异？丛枝菌根真菌（Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi, AMF）群落是否会被周围植被的属性所调控，例如不同功能群的占比或非菌根植物的占比？我们在温带草原生态系统中开展了针对上述问题的研究，采用下一代测序（next-generation sequencing）与光学显微技术对AMF群落进行分析，评估其群落组成、分类学多样性、系统发育多样性与功能多样性、功能性状以及根系定殖水平。研究结果显示，幼苗与成熟植株对应的AMF群落及其多样性存在显著差异，且该差异幅度大于宿主物种间或功能群间的差异。周围生境中非菌根植物的占比会显著影响AMF群落组成，并提升其物种丰富度。本研究结果凸显了进一步探究公共菌丝网络（common mycelial networks）存在性的必要性。实验中选用幼苗开展研究的决策，对实验结果的影响程度可能远超所选宿主物种本身的影响。