https://ipt.gbif.fr/resource?r=bises_vergnes Alan Vergnes CEFE https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6128-0793 Jerome Cortet CEFE https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7410-8626 Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole distributor Ville de Montpellier distributor 2026-02-16 eng This dataset, collected in 2021 as part of the BISES project (BIodiversity of Urban Soils and Sustainable CitiES), documents soil biodiversity and soil characteristics along an urbanization gradient. The aim of the project is to better understand the structure and functioning of soil communities in urban, peri-urban and rural environments, and their relationships with local environmental conditions. Sampling was conducted across a network of sites representative of different urban land uses, including green spaces, roadsides, community gardens, wastelands and peri-urban agricultural areas. Standardized protocols were used to collect multiple biological compartments of soil biodiversity: Collembola: sampled through soil coring and extraction, identified at species or genus level. Ants: collected using Barber pitfall traps and identified to species level. Other soil mesofauna: arthropods captured in the same trapping devices and grouped into higher taxonomic categories. Nematodes: extracted from soil samples and identified at family or genus level. Additional microbiological indicators and physico-chemical soil parameters were measured on the same samples but are not included in this dataset. This dataset contributes to understanding how urbanization influences soil biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Occurrence Urban ecology; Soil biodiversity; Urbanization gradient; Soil fauna; Collembola; Ants; Nematodes; Mesofauna; Pitfall trapping; Soil coring; Urban soils; Biodiversity monitoring; Community structure; Land-use gradient; Research study GBIF Dataset Type Vocabulary: http://rs.gbif.org/vocabulary/gbif/dataset_type_2015-07-10.xml Observation GBIF Dataset Subtype Vocabulary: http://rs.gbif.org/vocabulary/gbif/dataset_subtype.xml This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY 4.0) License. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International https://spdx.org/licenses/CC-BY-4.0.html CC-BY-4.0 N/A 3.789069 3.926353 43.675725 43.572061 2021-10-11 2021-12-06 family Nordiidae family Lycosidae family Bourletiellidae family Dorylaimidae family Katiannidae family Neanuridae family Acrididae family Geomitridae family Thomisidae order Hemiptera order Tylenchida family Tingidae family Diplopeltidae family Prismatolaimidae order Opiliones family Hypogastruridae family Entomobryidae class Clitellata family Heteroderidae family Monhysteridae order Araeolaimida family Linyphiidae order Polydesmida family Curculionidae family Aporcelaimidae family Micropeplidae class Entognatha family Arrhopalitidae family Ecphyadophoridae family Discolaimidae family Aphelenchidae class Arachnida order Chromadorida family Tullbergiidae family Pratylenchidae order Enoplida family Aphelenchoididae order Plectida order Julida family Diphtherophoridae class Diplopoda order Blattodea family Sminthuridae order Crassiclitellata order Collembola family Cyphoderidae family Anguinidae family Cephalobidae order Dermaptera order Oribatida family Megascolecidae class Collembola family Brachystomellidae order Araneae order Mononchida order Mesostigmata family Isotomidae family Gnaphosidae family Rotylenchulidae family Meloidogynidae family Mononchidae family Acanthodrilidae family Alaimidae family Paratylenchidae family Vespidae class Gastropoda family Blattidae order Lepidoptera order Diptera family Belondiridae order Entomobryomorpha class Chromadorea order Trichoptera family Tylenchidae family Teratocephalidae class Enoplea order Dorylaimida family Aphididae family Qudsianematidae kingdom Animalia family Plectidae family Carabidae family Diplogastridae order Orthoptera family Salticidae family Staphylinidae order Rhabditida family Elateridae order Coleoptera family Sminthurididae class Insecta family Trichodoridae order Triplonchida family Longidoridae family Mylonchulidae family Lumbricidae family Tomoceridae order Hymenoptera family Rhabditidae family Leptonchidae family Hormogastridae family Hoplolaimidae family Dicyrtomidae family Polydesmidae family Scarabaeidae family Cicadellidae family Neelidae family Dolichodoridae family Onychiuridae family Achromadoridae family Coccinellidae family Panagrolaimidae family Chrysomelidae family Osstellidae family Tylopharyngidae class Malacostraca order Stylommatophora order Poduromorpha order Acari order Monhysterida order Isopoda family Julidae family Formicidae unknown Alan Vergnes CEFE https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6128-0793 Jerome Cortet CEFE https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7410-8626 Selection of sampling sites along the urbanization gradient. Installation of pitfall (Barber) traps for surface fauna collection. Collection of soil cores for mesofauna and nematode extraction. Laboratory extraction of soil organisms using standardized protocols. Taxonomic identification: Ants identified to species level. Collembola identified to species or genus level. Mesofauna grouped into major taxonomic categories. Nematodes identified to genus or family level. Data standardization and formatting for biodiversity databases. The study was conducted in 2021 across multiple sites distributed along an urbanization gradient, from highly urbanized city centers to peri-urban and rural environments. Sampling sites were selected to represent a diversity of land uses including urban green spaces, roadside verges, community gardens, wastelands and peri-urban agricultural areas. Sampling followed standardized soil biodiversity protocols implemented across all sites. Soil fauna were collected using complementary approaches: Pitfall trapping (Barber traps): used to sample surface-active arthropods, particularly ants and other mesofauna. Soil coring and extraction: used to collect Collembola and other soil microarthropods. Soil extraction techniques: applied to isolate nematodes from soil samples for taxonomic identification. These harmonized methods ensured comparability of biodiversity metrics across the urbanization gradient. Alan Vergnes https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6128-0793 author Jerome Cortet https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7410-8626 author 2026-02-16T09:05:33.420+00:00 dataset Vergnes A, Cortet J (2026). BISES Project – Urban Soil Biodiversity and Sustainable Cities. Version 1.0. Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle & Evolutive (CEFE). Occurrence dataset. https://ipt.gbif.fr/resource?r=bises_vergnes&v=1.0