<b>Grazer exclusion changes soil microarthropod communities differently in lichen and moss dominated habitats of a boreal forest</b>

The datasets include: 1) The full names of oribatid mite species and genera identified in the study (<i>file name</i> full_species_genera_names)2) Soil parameters [pH, conductivity (microS per cm), moisture (%), soil organic matter content (%), soil carbon (%) and phosphorus (%) contents], the abundances of oribatid mites by life traits (body size, reproduction mode) and feeding guilds (litter, fungal, lichen and moss feeders, predators/scavengers) and the total abundances of juvenile and adult oribatid mites (<i>file name </i>mites_env). The oribatid mites' abundances are normalized per area. See more details below.3) Oribatid species abundances. The values indicate the number of counted individuals per species/genera per each soil sample. The data is not transformed (<i>file name </i>mvabu.mites). The non-transformed data was used for manyGLM analysis, and transformed data [Log₁₀ (abundance + 1)] was used for CCA.4) A new column that combines Habitat and Grazing (<i>file name</i> GrHab)5) A file (mites_env2) that was used with CCA6) Script examples for running linear regressions, manyGLM and CCA and for plotting the community dataThe soil samples for analysing microarthropods and soil edaphic properties were collected 28 July 2022 in Oulanka, northeastern Finland (66º22´N, 29º19´E, 166.5 m a.s.l.). The study site was an oligotrophic Scots pine (<i>Pinus sylvestris</i>) forest where the ground vegetation is dominated either by reindeer lichen (<i>Cladina</i> sp.) patches or by feather moss (<i>Pleurozium schreberi</i>) and dwarf shrub patches. We referred to the lichen patches as sunlit habitats and to the moss and dwarf shrub patches as shaded habitats. Grazing by semi-domesticated reindeer (<i>Rangifer tarandus</i>) forms an important means of land use in the study area. The study design included three different grazing treatments: currently grazed (GR), short-term ungrazed (SUG) and long-term ungrazed (LUG) covering both ground vegetation types. For SUG, we used three reindeer exclosures (9 m x 13 m) built 2019 and for LUG one reindeer exclosure (100 m x 120 m) built 1994, and these were compared with their adjacent grazed areas.The study design was a block design, in which six spatial blocks were established inside the long-term exclosure and another six spatial blocks in the grazed area; each block included both sunlit and shaded habitat (N= 24). Further, each SUG exclosure was considered as a spatial block and inside each SUG, we collected samples from two sunlit and two shaded spots (N=12). In total, we had 36 replicates. For microarthropods, one of the replicates (SUG shaded, replicate number 4) failed.At each sampling plot (approx. size of the plot 1 m²), two sets of samples were taken. Firstly, a composite sample (4 soil cores, diam. 3 cm, 6 cm depth) was taken for the extraction of mites and, secondly, another sample (3 cores, diam. 3 cm, 6 cm depth) was taken for analysing soil chemistry and stored in cool (4°C) until analyzed. Microarthropod abundances are normalized per area (individuals m^-2). All identified Oribatida material is stored at the Zoological Museum of the University of Turku.The datasets were used in an article with following bibliographic information:Väisänen, M., Markkula, I., (xxxx) Grazer exclusion changes soil microarthropod communities differently in lichen and moss dominated habitats of a boreal forest.xxxx