Soil and ground-dwelling arthropod diversity on green roofs: Functional groups are strongly influenced by substrate depth and plant community

Green roofs are a nature-based solution with the potential to support urban arthropod biodiversity. However, evidence remains inconclusive, as many roof characteristics and arthropod groups are still understudied. We used a multi-taxa and functional trait approach focused on soil and ground-dwelling arthropod communities to assess how green roof features related to structure and design, plant community, management, and surrounding landscape influence the species richness and abundance of arthropods (overall and of groups defined by vertical distribution, body size, mobility, and feeding habits). We sampled arthropods (N=7155, 244 species) using pitfall traps in 20 green roofs from central Argentina, and recorded green roof characteristics (i.e., size, age, height, substrate depth and composition, plant species richness and composition, irrigation, and landscape green cover). Substrate depth was the most important structural variable, being positively linked to the species..., Study area
The study was performed in Córdoba, central Argentina, where 20 green roofs were selected. Five roofs were located in the Paravachasca Valley, eight in the region of Sierras Chicas, and seven in the city of Córdoba (Fig. S1). The green roofs of the Paravachasca Valley and Sierras Chicas corresponded mostly to family homes following bioconstruction techniques. In the city of Córdoba, however, green roofs belonged to family homes and commercial buildings to better represent the green roofs in the city (Suarez et al., 2016). 
Green roof and landscape variables
Structural and design variables were measured on each roof or obtained through interviews with the roof owners. For green roof plant community variables, we sampled all the plant species on each roof for 15 minutes, collecting specimens that were later herbarized at the laboratory. Plant species were identified following the criteria of the Darwinian Botanic Institute (Zuloaga & Morrone, 2017), and the species ric..., # Data from: Soil and ground-dwelling arthropod diversity on green roofs: Functional groups are strongly influenced by substrate depth and plant community

Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.dz08kps9s](10.5061/dryad.dz08kps9s)

### Description of the data and file structure

#### **Files and variables**

**File: Datasets-green roof arthropods.xlsx**

**Description:** The dataset includes multiple sheets with all the data used in the article. The metadata sheet includes detailed instructions for reading and interpreting the remaining tables. The raw data sheet includes all the local and landscape variables used in the analyses, as well as the species richness and abundance of all arthropod groups. A list of the collected plant species is provided in the Plant species sheet. The sheet Arthropod species includes all the identified arthropod species, along with their classification into functional groups.

### Files and variables

#### File: Datasets-green_roof_arthropods.xlsx

**Description:** 

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