# Desert mycobiome of Saudi Arabia is driven by vegetation patterns

## TL;DR

The study shows how fungal diversity in Saudi Arabian deserts is shaped by vegetation and environmental factors, with implications for understanding climate change effects.

## Contribution

The study identifies specific environmental predictors of fungal diversity in Saudi Arabian deserts, linking them to global dryland patterns.

## Key findings

- Fungal diversity is highest in moist montane habitats and lowest in hyper-arid regions.
- Soil pH, elevation, and vegetation coverage strongly influence fungal community composition.
- Fungal communities in Saudi Arabia mirror global dryland trends in diversity and evenness.

## Abstract

Deserts are home to diverse microbial communities important in many ecological processes and strategies for responding to a changing climate. We recorded the biodiversity of soil-inhabiting fungi and their predictors in Saudi Arabia via metabarcoding. Alpha diversity of the fungal communities varied greatly, with high diversity in moist montane habitats and very low diversity in hyper-arid regions. The fungal community was dominated by members of the orders Pleosporales, Pezizales, Agaricales, Glomerales, and Sordariales, most of which represented saprotrophic guilds. Modelling analyses showed that soil pH, elevation, vegetation coverage, and vegetation indices substantially impact soil fungal richness and community composition. These patterns mirror global dryland trends, with low diversity and high evenness in hyper-arid sites but higher richness and ecological differentiation in montane and vegetated regions. Our results demonstrate that vegetation cover, edaphic conditions, and altitude jointly shape fungal diversity in Saudi Arabian soils, offering mechanistic insight into community assembly and predicting ecosystem responses to climate change in arid landscapes.