Host plant richness explains diversity of ectomycorrhizal fungi: Response to the comment of Tedersoo et al. (2014) |
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Authors: | Cheng Gao Nan‐Nan Shi Yue‐Xing Liu Yong Zheng Qiong Ding Xiang‐Cheng Mi Ke‐Ping Ma Tesfaye Wubet François Buscot Liang‐Dong Guo |
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Affiliation: | 1. State Key Laboratory of Mycology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, , Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100101 China;2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, , Beijing, 100049 China;3. State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, , Beijing, 100093 China;4. Department of Soil Ecology, UFZ‐Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, , Halle, 06120 Germany;5. German Centre for integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig, , Leipzig, 04103 Germany;6. University of Leipzig, Institute of Biology, , Leipzig, 04103 Germany |
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Abstract: | Exploring the relationships between the biodiversity of groups of interacting organisms yields insight into ecosystem stability and function (Hooper et al. 2000 ; Wardle 2006 ). We demonstrated positive relationships between host plant richness and ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungal diversity both in a field study in subtropical China (Gutianshan) and in a meta‐analysis of temperate and tropical studies (Gao et al. 2013 ). However, based on re‐evaluation of our data sets, Tedersoo et al. ( 2014 ) argue that the observed positive correlation between EM fungal richness and EM plant richness at Gutianshan and also in our metastudies was based mainly from (i) a sampling design with inconsistent species pool and (ii) poor data compilation for the meta‐analysis. Accordingly, we checked our data sets and repeated the analysis performed by Tedersoo et al. ( 2014 ). In contrast to Tedersoo et al. ( 2014 ), our re‐analysis still confirms a positive effect of plant richness on EM fungal diversity in Gutianshan, temperate and tropical ecosystems, respectively. |
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Keywords: | community ecology ectomycorrhizal fungal diversity environmental DNA host plant richness |
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