Sampling Design and Sample Processing Affect Soil Biodiversity Assessments.

ABSTRACT: Biodiversity surveys require an appropriate sampling design for optimal performance and comparability across space and time and across studies. Based on PacBio and Illumina amplicon sequencing of animals, bacteria and fungi, we assessed and compared various soil sampling designs from widely used continental and global metabarcoding-based biodiversity projects. Sampling designs revealed up to 27-fold, 6-fold and 15-fold differences in biodiversity estimates for animals, bacteria and fungi, respectively. Taxonomic coverage depended mostly on the number of subsamples but not sampling area within the 347-1790 m², 428-1924 m², 327-1790 m² plot size range for animals, bacteria and fungi, respectively. Additional sampling of subsoil did not add significantly to di

SUBMITTER: Chen M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12931581 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature