C allocation to the fungus is not a cost to the plant in ectomycorrhizae (a meta-analysis)

Mycorrhizal benefit to plants is most frequently evaluated through growth differences between mycorrhizal (M) and non‐mycorrhizal (NM) plants. These growth differences are often considered to be due to differences in belowground carbon (C) expenditure, or in cost efficiency, i.e. amount of nutrients acquired per C expended. In order to understand whether growth differences between M and NM plants are dictated by differences in C availability, we searched published reports on for relations between plant growth and belowground C allocation, C use efficiency, or nutrient uptake, in ectomycorrhizal (ECM) versus non‐mycorrhizal plants. This search was done for carrying out a meta-analysis on the published literature. The list of studies used in this meta-analysis, along with relevant information from each study, can be found in this dataset.