Herbivore species and patch heterogeneity modulate grazing-induced shifts in soil nematode trophic structure and energy flux

Grazing by large herbivores is a critical factor in shaping grassland biodiversity and ecosystem functioning worldwide; however, its consequences for soil communities remain poorly understood. This gap is important because soil food webs underpin ecosystem processes and may respond differently to grazing depending on herbivore identity and local heterogeneity (i.e., patchiness). Here, a four-year field experiment was conducted to investigate the influence of cattle and sheep grazing on soil nematode communities in a grassland featuring a mosaic of degraded high-salinity and undegraded low-salinity patches. We focus on nematode communities because nematode-based indices offer key insights into the structure of the soil food web and overall soil health. In the absence of grazing, degraded patches exhibited a more simplified soil food web structure, indicated by reduced nematode diversity, maturity index, and structure index, but higher nematode biomass and energy flux compared to undegrad..., , # Data from: Herbivore species and patch heterogeneity modulate grazing-induced shifts in soil nematode trophic structure and energy flux

Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.7pvmcvf6q](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.7pvmcvf6q)

## Description of the data and file structure

Soil samples were collected at the end of the 2020 growing season from grazed grassland paddocks comprising high- and low-salinity patches, with two replicates in high-salinity patches and four in low-salinity patches, reflecting their proportional area coverage. Composite soil cores (0–10 cm depth) were obtained and divided for different analyses. Fresh subsamples were used to extract nematodes via modified Baermann funnels and to determine soil water content. Other subsamples were analyzed for microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen, available nitrogen, and soil physicochemical properties, including pH, electrical conductivity, total organic carbon, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus. Nematodes were identified to genus or ..., , **Changes after Oct 12, 2025:** 

* The first row (header line) of the data file has been corrected.\
Specifically:

*Biomass_He* was changed to *Biomass_Ba*

*Biomass_Ba* was changed to *Biomass_Fu*

*Biomass_Fu* was changed to *Biomass_He*

No other data or variable values were modified.