Global data on earthworm abundance, biomass, diversity and corresponding environmental properties

PHILLIPS, HELEN R. P.; BACH, ELIZABETH M.; BARTZ, MARIE L. C.; BENNETT, JOANNE M.; BEUGNON, RÉMY; BRIONES, MARIA J. I.; BROWN, GEORGE G.; FERLIAN, OLGA; GONGALSKY, KONSTANTIN B.; GUERRA, CARLOS A.; KÖNIG-RIES, BIRGITTA; KREBS, JULIA J.; ORGIAZZI, ALBERTO; RAMIREZ, KELLY S.; RUSSELL, DAVID J.; SCHWARZ, BENJAMIN; WALL, DIANA H.; BROSE, ULRICH; DECAËNS, THIBAUD; LAVELLE, PATRICK; LOREAU, MICHEL; MATHIEU, JÉRÔME; MULDER, CHRISTIAN; VAN DER PUTTEN, WIM H.; RILLIG, MATTHIAS C.; THAKUR, MADHAV P.; DE VRIES, FRANCISKA T.; WARDLE, DAVID A.; AMMER, CHRISTIAN; AMMER, SABINE; ARAI, MIWA; AYUKE, FREDRICK O.; BAKER, GEOFF H.; BARETTA, DILMAR; BARKUSKY, DIETMAR; BEAUSÉJOUR, ROBIN; BEDANO, JOSE C.; BIRKHOFER, KLAUS; BLANCHART, ERIC; BLOSSEY, BERND; BOLGER, THOMAS; BRADLEY, ROBERT L.; BROSSARD, MICHEL; BURTIS, JAMES C.; CAPOWIEZ, YVAN; CAVAGNARO, TIMOTHY R.; CHOI, AMY; CLAUSE, JULIA; CLUZEAU, DANIEL; COORS, ANJA; CROTTY, FELICITY V.; CRUMSEY, JASMINE M.; DÁVALOS, ANDREA; COSÍN, DARÍO J. DÍAZ; DOBSON, ANNISE M.; DOMÍNGUEZ, ANA

Scientific Data

Nature Publishing Group

Año: 2021 vol. 8

Earthworms are an important soil taxon as ecosystem engineers, providing a variety ofcrucial ecosystem functions and services. Little is known about their diversity and distributionat large spatial scales, despite the availability of considerable amounts of local-scale data.Earthworm diversity data, obtained from the primary literature or provided directly byauthors, were collated with information on site locations, including coordinates, habitatcover, and soil properties. Datasets were required, at a minimum, to include abundance orbiomass of earthworms at a site. Where possible, site-level species lists were included, aswell as the abundance and biomass of individual species and ecological groups. This globaldataset contains 10,840 sites, with 184 species, from 60 countries and all continents exceptAntarctica. The data were obtained from 182 published articles, published between 1973and 2017, and 17 unpublished datasets. Amalgamating data into a single global databasewill assist researchers in investigating and answering a wide variety of pressing questions,for example, jointly assessing aboveground and belowground biodiversity distributions anddrivers of biodiversity change.