Ecologists have had a very good foundational knowledge of the global distribution of plants and aboveground animals for many decades. But despite the immense diversity of soil organisms, our knowledge of the global distribution, drivers and threats to soil biodiversity is very limited. In this issue of Molecular Ecology, Bastida et al. (2020) produce the first global maps of soil invertebrate diversity that have been sampled at 83 locations, across six continents, using standardised methods and DNA sequencing. Using data from nematodes, arachnids and rotifers, and structural equation models, they find that diversity of these taxa is primarily driven by vegetation and climate. Given the anthropogenic changes that are occurring, and are projected to continue, this study provides important baseline information for future soil biodiversity and function monitoring, as well as exciting working hypotheses for targeted experiments.

中文翻译：

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在地图上显示土壤无脊椎动物的多样性。

几十年来，生态学家对植物和地上动物的全球分布具有非常好的基础知识。但是，尽管土壤生物具有巨大的多样性，但我们对全球分布，土壤生物多样性的驱动因素和威胁的了解非常有限。在本期《分子生态学》中，巴斯蒂达等人。（2020年）绘制了第一张全球土壤无脊椎动物多样性图，该图已使用标准化方法和DNA测序在六大洲的83个地点进行了采样。利用线虫，蜘蛛和轮虫的数据以及结构方程模型，他们发现这些类群的多样性主要由植被和气候驱动。考虑到正在发生的人为变化，并且预计这种变化将持续下去，