NFI Soil Fungi & Invertebrate Communities: eDNA Data from UK Woodlands, 2023/24

Soil community data generated through eDNA metabarcoding of samples from National Forest Inventory woodland plots across England in 2023/24. The dataset lists detected species per sample with read counts, taxonomic identification, and conservation statuses. It is funded by the UK Government's Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment programme and produced by the Forestry Commission.

Use Cases

• Model species distribution and community composition based on eDNA read counts and taxonomic data.
• Assess conservation priorities by analyzing species' IUCN Red List Threat Status and invasive status.
• Study spatial biodiversity patterns using georeferenced sample data with delocalised grid coordinates.
• Analyze co-occurrence networks of soil fungi and invertebrates across different woodland plots.

Strengths

• Includes processed eDNA sequence data for three marker genes (ITS, 18S, COI), enabling broad taxonomic coverage.
• Provides species-level conservation metadata (IUCN status, invasive status) where available.
• Data is georeferenced using a delocalised grid system with centroid coordinates and polygon area.
• Samples were collected within the structured National Forest Inventory (NFI) framework across England.

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to the NFI woodland plot sampling in England.

Provenance

Source

Forestry Commission, with data generated by NatureMetrics.

Collection Method

eDNA metabarcoding of soil samples collected within National Forest Inventory woodland plots.

Time Range

2023/24

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-29 22:10:33.273474; freshness should be verified.

Geography

England