5 Conclusions
In conclusion, by performing qPCR and barcode pyrosequencing
analyses on the fungal communities of soils from
Mt. Shegyla, soil pH was found to be a more important driver
than other edaphic factors that determined the alpha diversity
(including richness, evenness, and phylodiversity) pattern,
rather than the beta diversity or abundance pattern of soil fungi
along the altitudinal gradient in this typical Tibetan forest
ecosystem. This finding strengthened our knowledge on belowground
biodiversity in sustaining aboveground community
and would better help interpret the biodiversity change of
the Tibetan Plateau under future environmental scenarios.
Acknowledgments This work was financially supported by grants
from National Science Foundation of China (41230857, 51221892),
MOST (2013CB956300) and STSN-21-02. We appreciated Drs. Mu
Wang and Xi Zha from Agricultural and Animal Husbandry College of
Tibet for their assistance in soil sampling.