Ericoid mycorrhizal fungal metacommunity facilitates closely related Rhododendron species coexistence
Data files
Aug 21, 2025 version files 1.80 MB
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1_ErM_fungi_manucript_New_R.r
126.76 KB
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2_Rhododendron_tree.nexus
2.12 KB
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3_All_fungi_rarefy_community.csv
1.02 MB
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4_All_fungi_rarefy_taxonomy.xlsx
323.66 KB
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5_ErM_fungal_rarefy_community.csv
57.87 KB
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6_ErM_fungi_rarefy_taxonomy.xlsx
20.28 KB
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7_predictor_all_fungi.csv
125.68 KB
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8_predictor_ErM_fungi.csv
118.64 KB
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README.md
4.78 KB
Abstract
The structural and ecological significance of ericoid mycorrhizal (ErM) fungi is well recognized. Yet, it remains unknown whether the coexistence of ericaceous plants is facilitated by their symbioses with ErM fungi. Here, we use Rhododendron (Ericaceae) as a model to investigate how phylogenetic and functional limiting similarity, or facilitation through ErM fungal metacommunity, influences their co-occurrence in mountain ecosystems. We found Rhododendron species tended to be phylogenetically and functionally clustered across elevations. However, a substantial dissimilarity in the composition of putative ErM fungi was observed among co-occurring hosts within the same community, especially at higher elevations. Host identity played a predominant role in shaping the composition of ErM fungi. Moreover, the degree of network specialization in Rhododendron-ErM fungi interactions increased with elevation. Our study provides one of the first examinations of drivers of ErM fungal composition and network specialization in a species-rich Rhododendron assemblage. Host-symbiont mutualistic interactions in complex landscapes may offer insights into the coexistence of closely related species.
This data package contains data and an R script for the Manuscript
Ya-Huang Luo, Liang-Liang Ma, Marc W. Cadotte, Sebastian Seibold, Jia-Yun Zou, Jie Song, Wei Zheng, Zhi-Qiong Mo, Bin Yu, Cai-Yun Li, Yong-Hui Qian, Lin-Jiang Ye, Shao-Lin Tan, Jie Liu, De-Zhu Li, Lian-Ming Gao. Putative Ericoid mycorrhizal fungal metacommunity facilitates closely related Rhododendron species coexistence.
The data contains 1 file (in *.R format) that was used in the analyses of the above manuscript
The data contains 1 file (in *.nexus format) that was used in the phylogenetic data of the above manuscript
The data contains 6 files (each in *.csv format) that were used in the metacommunity and network data of the above manuscript
A detailed description of each data file is given below.
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- ErM fungi_manucript_R
R script for data analysis used in this manuscript
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2. Rhododendron_tree.nexus
Rhododendron phylogenetic tree for 20 focal species used in this study
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3 All_fungi_rarefy_community.csv
All fungal OTUs dataframe, row name is individual code, colname is OTU
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4 All_fungi_rarefy_taxonomy.xlsx
All fungal OTUs taxonomy dataframe, row name is UNITE code, colname including OTU_ID, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species, respectively.
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5 ErM_fungal_rarefy_community
Putative ErM fungal OTUs dataframe, row name is individual code, colname is OTU
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6 ErM_fungi_rarefy_taxonomy.xlsx
Putative ErM fungal OTUs taxonomy dataframe, row name is UNITE code, colname including OTU_ID, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species, respectively.
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7. predictor_all fungi.csv
The biotic and abiotic factors used in this study to explore the effects of host, environment, and space on all fungal composition
The details including
1)code: individual code
2)Aspect: Aspect of the mountain
3)Species_new:species name
4)Species_ele:species name and elevation
5)plot: Aspect and plot
6)Elevation: elevation (m)
Variables Abbreviate Unit
Host (28)
Moran’s eigenvector maps of phylogeny MEM#1-#19
Host abundance
Maximum height Hmax m
Leaf thickness LT cm
Leaf area LA cm2
Specific leaf area SLA cm2/g
Leaf carbon concentration LCC g/kg
Leaf nitrogen concentration LNC g/kg
Leaf phosphorus concentration LPC g/kg
Seed mass SM g
Space (18)
Principal coordinates of
neighbor matrices PCNM#1-#18
Environment (17)
Soil pH pH
Soil organic carbon SOC g.Kg-1
Soil total nitrogen T.N g.Kg-1
Soil total phosphorus T.P g.Kg-1
Soil total potassium T.K g.Kg-1
Soil available nitrogen A.N mg.Kg-1
Soil available phosphorus A.P mg.Kg-1
Soil water content SWC %
Mean annual temperature of air A.MAT °C
Maximum temperature of air max.AT °C
Minimum temperature of air min.AT °C
Mean annual temperature of soil S.MAT °C
Maximum temperature of soil max.ST °C
Minimum temperature of soil min.ST °C
Air humidity Humidity %
Coefficient variation of air temperature CV.A.MAT
Coefficient variation of soil temperature CV.S.MAT
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8. predictor_ErM_fungi.csv
The biotic and abiotic factors used in this study to explore the effects of host, environment, and space on the composition of putative ErM fungi
The details including
1)code: individual code
2)Aspect: Aspect of the mountain
3)Species_new:species name
4)Species_ele:species name and elevation
5)plot: Aspect and plot
6)Elevation: elevation (m)
Variables Abbreviate Unit
Host (28)
Moran’s eigenvector maps of phylogeny MEM#1-#19
Host abundance
Maximum height Hmax m
Leaf thickness LT cm
Leaf area LA cm2
Specific leaf area SLA cm2/g
Leaf carbon concentration LCC g/kg
Leaf nitrogen concentration LNC g/kg
Leaf phosphorus concentration LPC g/kg
Seed mass SM g
Space (18)
Principal coordinates of
neighbor matrices PCNM#1-#18
Environment (17)
Soil pH pH
Soil organic carbon SOC g.Kg-1
Soil total nitrogen T.N g.Kg-1
Soil total phosphorus T.P g.Kg-1
Soil total potassium T.K g.Kg-1
Soil available nitrogen A.N mg.Kg-1
Soil available phosphorus A.P mg.Kg-1
Soil water content SWC %
Mean annual temperature of air A.MAT °C
Maximum temperature of air max.AT °C
Minimum temperature of air min.AT °C
Mean annual temperature of soil S.MAT °C
Maximum temperature of soil max.ST °C
Minimum temperature of soil min.ST °C
Air humidity Humidity %
Coefficient variation of air temperature CV.AT
Coefficient variation of soil temperature CV.ST
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