The site-level data frame and code to reproduce models in Burton et al. Land use and soil characteristics affect soil organisms differently from above-ground assemblages.

Human activities, particularly land-use change and habitat degradation, are driving major changes in biodiversity worldwide. However, studies of such effects have overwhelmingly focused on above-ground taxa: the effects on soil biodiversity are less well known, despite the importance of soil organisms in developing soil structure, nutrient cycling and water drainage. Modelling data collated as part of the Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity in Changing Terrestrial Systems (PREDICTS) project, we compared how the abundance of soil-dwelling and above-ground organisms responded to land-use and soil properties. We found that land use affects overall abundance differently in soil and above-ground assemblages. Abundance of soil organisms was markedly lower in cropland and plantation habitats than in primary vegetation and pasture. Soil properties influenced the overall abundance of soil biota in ways that differed among land uses, suggesting they shape both abundance and its response to land use. Soil properties also influenced the response of above-ground assemblages, but in ways that differed from their influence on soil assemblages. Our results caution against assuming that models or indicators derived from above-ground data can apply to soil assemblages, and highlight the potential value of incorporating soil properties into models of both soil and above-ground biodiversity.