Explaining the large-scale diversity of soil organisms that drive biogeochemical processes-and their responses to environmental change-is critical. However, identifying consistent drivers of belowground diversity and abundance for some soil organisms at large spatial scales remains problematic. Here we investigate a major guild, the ectomycorrhizal fungi, across European forests at a spatial scale and resolution that is-to our knowledge-unprecedented, to explore key biotic and abiotic predictors of ectomycorrhizal diversity and to identify dominant responses and thresholds for change across complex environmental gradients. We show the effect of 38 host, environment, climate and geographical variables on ectomycorrhizal diversity, and define thresholds of community change for key variables. We quantify host specificity and reveal plasticity in functional traits involved in soil foraging across gradients. We conclude that environmental and host factors explain most of the variation in ectomycorrhizal diversity, that the environmental thresholds used as major ecosystem assessment tools need adjustment and that the importance of belowground specificity and plasticity has previously been underappreciated.

Bavarian State Forestry Institute Freising Germany

Biological Sciences University of Reading Reading UK

Centre for Ecology and Hydrology Wallingford UK

Comparative Plant and Fungal Biology Royal Botanic Gardens Kew London UK

Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management University of Copenhagen Frederiksberg Denmark

Earth and Environmental Sciences University of Manchester Manchester UK

Estonian Environment Agency Tallinn Estonia

Federal Research and Training Centre for Forests Natural Hazards and Landscape Wien Austria

Forest Research Alice Holt Lodge Farnham UK

Forest Research Institute Sękocin Stary Poland

Forestry and Game Management Research Institute Jíloviště Czech Republic

Forschungsanstalt für Waldökologie und Forstwirtschaft Trippstadt Germany

IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute Stockholm Sweden

Landesamt für Natur Umwelt und Verbraucherschutz Nordrhein Westfalen Recklinghausen Germany

Landesforstanstalt M 5 BT FVI Schwerin Germany

Life Sciences Imperial College London Ascot UK

NARIC Forest Research Institute Sárvár Hungary

National Forest Centre Zvolen Slovakia

Natural Resources Institute Finland Oulu Finland

Natural Resources Institute Finland Rovaniemi Finland

Nature and Forest Research Institute Environment and Climate Geraardsbergen Belgium

Northwest German Forest Research Institute Göttingen Germany

Office National des Forêts Recherche Développement Innovation Fontainebleau France

Public Enterprise Sachsenforst Kompetenzzentrum Wald und Forstwirtschaft Pirna Germany

Slovenian Forestry Institute Ljubljana Slovenia

Staatsbetrieb Sachsenforst Pirna Germany

Swedish Forest Agency Jönköping Sweden

Thünen Institute of Forest Ecosystems Eberswalde Germany

University of Louvain Earth and Life Institute Louvain la Neuve Belgium

WSL Swiss Federal Institute for Forest Snow and Landscape Research Birmensdorf Switzerland

Erratum v

Nature. 2018 Sep;561(7724):E42. doi: 10.1038/s41586-018-0312-y. PubMed

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