A dataset for the effect of earthworm abundance and functional group diversity on plant litter decay and soil organic carbon level

摘要

This paper describes data of earthworm abundance and functional group diversity regulate plant litter decay and soil organic carbon (SOC) level in global terrestrial ecosystems. The data also describes the potential effect of vegetation types, litter quality, litterbag mesh size, soil C/N, soil aggregate size, experimental types and length of experimental time on earthworm induced plant litter and SOC decay. The data were collected from 69 studies published between 1985 and 2018, covering 340 observations. This data article is related to the paper “Earthworm Abundance and Functional Group Diversity Regulate Plant Litter Decay and Soil Organic Carbon Level: A Global Meta-analysis” [1].