Whole-plant absorptive-root biomass, root functional traits and mycorrhizal colonization across 74 plant species

It contains individual-level measurements from 351 plants representing 74 woody and herbaceous species sampled in temperate and subtropical regions of China. The dataset integrates absorptive-root functional traits, whole-plant biomass allocation, root-system deployment, and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) colonization, allowing root–mycorrhizal strategies to be evaluated from the root-segment to the whole-plant level.</p><p dir="ltr">The dataset includes three main components.</p><p dir="ltr">(1) Raw data (Raw_data.xlsx), containing the original individual-level measurements used in the study, including root diameter (RD), specific root length (SRL), root tissue density (RTD), root nitrogen concentration (RN), AMF colonization rate, absorptive-root biomass (ARB), belowground biomass (BGB), aboveground biomass (AGB), and associated plant identity and grouping information.

Log10-transformed versions of variables used in statistical analyses are also included. These data can be used directly to reproduce the classical root economics space analysis and selected Extended Data figures.</p><p dir="ltr">(2) Processed data after allometric correction (Processed_data_allometric_correction.xlsx), containing size-corrected individual-level variables used for the main analyses. These include allometrically corrected ARB, total absorptive-root length, total AMF-colonized root length, and the variables required for principal component analyses and correlations underlying Figs. 2 and 3 and the remaining Extended Data analyses.