BETA-FOR_SP4_Nematodes_2023

We took four soil samples per patch (5cm diameter, 10 cm depth) within 30 cm radius from TOMST logger after roughly removing the litter. We pooled these samples per patch, sieved the soil (2mm) and extracted nematodes as soon as possible (nematodes need to be alive for this method) with the Baermann-Funnel Method. To do so, we used ~20 g fresh soil. After extraction, nematoes were fixed in 4% formalin, counted and if possible 100 individuals (10% if more than 1000 in the sample) morphologically determined. The dry weight of the soil sample is determined and the number of nematodes of each taxa in 1 g dry weight is calculated. As some of the nematode samples had lots of debris besides the nematodes, it was not possible to identify 100 specimens in each sample. We advise caution when interpreting the data; while standardizing approaches like iNEXT are possible, we do not recommend analyzing nematode indices or trophic groups due to the varying number of identified individuals.