Global monitoring of soil animal communities using a common methodology

Soils host approximately 50% of the biomass and a major part of the diversity of animals on land. However, large-scale data that link soil animal diversity with ecosystem functions is limited to few regional studies, hampering our understanding of soil animal contribution to global biogeochemistry. Besides, global abiotic and biotic drivers and assembly processes in soil animal communities and food webs have not been comprehensively assessed. Here we introduce Soil BON Foodweb Team (SBF Team), a novel international voluntary initiative that addresses these gaps by a standardized global assessment of soil animal communities across micro-, meso-, and macrofauna. By sampling Soil BON sites (https://www.globalsoilbiodiversity.org/soilbon), this initiative is the first to link soil animal communities across the size spectrum to a range of soil functions worldwide. At present the initiative includes soil ecologists from 15+ countries covering all continents. We intend to expand the network and conduct the first sampling campaign in 2022 covering a minimum of 200 sampling sites globally. We are welcome for researchers especially from underrepresented countries. Jointly, we will be able to produce unprecedented data to address exciting and challenging questions and establish a global collaboration network for soil animal diversity monitoring and future joint work.