Post-fire soil bacteria (16S) and eukaryotes (18S) raw rRNA sequence reads from Mediterranean dry sclerophyll woodland and adjacent historically cleared and grazed pastures.

In December 2019, a megafire burned nearly half of Kangaroo Island, South Australia, Australia. At study sites in Western River, Kangaroo Island, the fire affected both Mediterranean dry sclerophyll woodland and adjacent historically cleared and grazed pasture. The aim of this study was to 1) assess the impacts of the megafire on the community composition and function of soil bacteria and soil eukaryotes and 2) study the physicochemical drivers of post-fire soil microbial communities. Outcomes of this study include a better understanding of fire impacts on soil health and relationships between fire impacts on soil physicochemical properties and resulting soil microbial communities. We intend for this information to aid post-fire restoration efforts and fire impact monitoring.