Conclusion
We did find definited biogeographic pattern of NTF in Yunnan. Heterogeneous pattern of NTF can not be found, if widespread species were included, or rare species were removed. Watershed unit, not grid, revealed clear distribution pattern of NTF at species and genetic level. Suggestions on future microbial biogeography studies include: employing watershed as basic unit; removing the impact of widespread species, valuing the contribution of rare species; employing stratified sampling strategy and good sampling effort; attaching importance to pure culture research and working on small taxa.
Acknowledgements: This work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (U1602262, 31360013, 31760126), supported by the Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research Program (STEP), Grant No. SQ2019QZKK2002. We thank Chen Jin-Hui (陈锦辉) from Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences for sample collection. Thanks to Jacob B Kraus, Ren Guo-Peng (任国鹏), She Rong (佘容), Zhang Cai-Cai (张彩彩) and Zhu Xiao-Ming (朱晓明) from Institute of Eastern-Himalaya Bodiversity research, Dali University for discussions. Thanks to the followings for their contributions in laboratory research, they are Fang Yi-Hao (房以好), Zhou Han-Yu (周汉宇), Wang Jia-Liang (王家亮), Wang Chuan-Qi (王传琪), Zhou Xin-Juan (周新娟), Wang Hai-Qing (王海清), Ma Rui (马瑞), Li Fei-Teng (李飞腾), Li Jing-Chao (李静超), Jiang Lin (姜林), Gu Rong (顾荣), Wen Hui (温慧), Ni Jun (倪俊), Liao Yong-Hong (廖永红), Liu Sheng-Bin (刘胜斌), Duan Ji-Xia (段继霞), Liu Na (刘娜), Sun Hui-Fang (孙慧芳), Fan Xian-Qin (范先芹), Chen Xiao-Xi (陈晓溪), Wu Tao (吴涛), Mao Xu-Dan (毛旭丹), Wang Ting-Ping (王廷平), Lin Yan-Yun (林燕云), Huang Yuan-Tong (黄圆通), Xie Rong (谢蓉), Wang Yan-Fang (王彦芳), Xia Feng-Yu (夏丰雨), Guo Hao-Miao (郭浩妙), Zhang Ying (张莹), Li Yi-Lun (李宜伦), Yuan Jia-Xing (袁佳兴), Wang Shi-Xiong (王世雄), Zhou Fang-Yuan (周方圆), Xiong Meng-Jia (熊梦佳), Liu Tao (刘韬), Chen Zhi-Hong (陈志鸿), Lu Ya-Xian (陆亚娴), Gao Yu-Ting (高玉婷), Li Zheng-Qiang (李政强), Feng Xing-Xing (冯鑫鑫), Chen Yu-Xiu (陈玉秀), Zhang Xiao-Yu (张晓禹), Huang Zhi-Hao (黄志豪), Fan Ji-Zhuang (范集壮), Huang Fei-Hong (黄飞鸿), Ni Shui-Qing (倪水清), Zhu Zi-Zhong (朱自忠), Liao Guang-Hui (廖光辉), Wang Zhu-Hua (王柱华), Feng Bing (冯冰), Xu Xiao-Yu (徐潇雨), Yan Li-Hong (严丽红), Yue Xiao-Lan (岳晓兰), Teng Man (藤曼), Li Shuang-Mei (李双美), Zhao Jia-Jing (赵家静), Zhang Da-Bo (张大波), Li Zheng-Xiong (李正雄), Zhang Xun-Gang (张勋刚), Zhang Zan (张赞), Huo Bang-Guo (伙帮国), Yao Lu-Jun (姚路军), An Pan (安攀), Yang Zheng-Chao (杨正超), Yang Yao-Quan (杨耀权), Zhou Fa-Ping (周发平), Niu Kai-Yang (牛开阳), Xiong He-Ju(熊和菊), Lin Hui-Biao (林慧彪), Chen Xiao-Jun (陈晓俊), Zhou Jian-Fen (周建芬), Wang Ya-Juan (王娅娟), Qi Yu-Kun (齐宇坤), Huang Shuai-Yi (黄帅义), and Wang Ai-Di (王爱迪).
Author Contributions:Y.X.Y, X.W and C.Q.H conceived the study; Y.X.Y, X.W, D.W, Z.F, L.S.R and D.F undertook comparative and analytical work and wrote the paper; L.N, T.K and G.Y performed data analyses; Y.X.Y, X.W, D.W, Z.F, L.S.R, L.Y.P, F.X.J, Z.X, L.L.L, Z.Y.J coordinated the laboratory research work; Y.X.Y, X.W, D.W, Z.F, L.S.R, D.F, C.Q.H edited the manuscript.
Data accessibility statement: The data supporting the results will be archived in Dryad, and the data DOI will be included at the end of the article.
Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.