---
title: "Soil invertebrate biodiversity in Canada: spatial and taxonomic knowledge gaps from a systematic m"
id: "biorxiv-13-a-systematic-map-of-soil-invertebrate-biodiversity-in-canada-identifying"
canonical_url: "https://medichelpline.com/clinical-feed/biorxiv-13-a-systematic-map-of-soil-invertebrate-biodiversity-in-canada-identifying"
content_type: "clinical_feed_article"
specialty: "General"
source_name: "bioRxiv (Biomedical Preprints)"
source_url: "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.22.753449v1?rss=1"
published_at: "2026-09-23T12:00:00.000Z"
evidence_level: "Verified Feed"
license: "CC-BY-NC-4.0 / Informational Use"
---
# Soil invertebrate biodiversity in Canada: spatial and taxonomic knowledge gaps from a systematic m
## Provenance & Clinical Metadata
- **Canonical URL:** https://medichelpline.com/clinical-feed/biorxiv-13-a-systematic-map-of-soil-invertebrate-biodiversity-in-canada-identifying
- **Specialty:** [General](https://medichelpline.com/clinical-feed/general.md)
- **Primary Source:** bioRxiv (Biomedical Preprints)
- **Source URL:** [Original Journal Publication](https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.22.753449v1?rss=1)
- **Published At:** 2026-09-23T12:00:00.000Z
- **Evidence Rating:** Verified Feed
## Executive GIST (TL;DR)
- The authors conducted a systematic map of peer-reviewed literature to assess **soil biodiversity** knowledge across Canada, identifying spatial and taxonomic gaps and sampling coverage relative to current and projected climate conditions. - The review extracted data from 427 articles and identified 1,176 Canadian sampling locations reported in the literature. - Sampling coverage is biased geographically: regions above 60° North were sparsely sampled, and colder regions (mean temperature 1.59 °C) temperature changes, and regions projected to have moderate (-2.06 to +2.69 mm) to large (+2.69 to +7.44 mm) precipitation changes, were underrepresented in sampling. - Taxonomic sampling was uneven: records were skewed toward **Nematoda** (19%), **Annelida** (18%), **Acari** (15%), and **Collembola** (14%). Other taxonomic groups were less frequently sampled or reported. - The authors recommend targeted approaches such as **stratified sampling** to capture underrepresented regions and taxonomic groups, and a shift toward **multispecies** sampling strategies for broader soil ecosystem knowledge. - They also suggest leveraging data from well-sampled areas to inform conservation management for soil invertebrates. - Funding sources and competing interests were reported: the authors declared no competing interest; funding included NSERC and Saint Mary’s University scholarships and grants.
## Clinical Analysis & Structured Key Points
A systematic map of soil invertebrate biodiversity in Canada: Identifying spatial and taxonomic knowledge gaps | bioRxiv Skip to main content New Results A systematic map of soil invertebrate biodiversity in Canada: Identifying spatial and taxonomic knowledge gaps View ORCID Profile Maheshi E Dharmasiri , View ORCID Profile Zoe Lindo , View ORCID Profile Erin K Cameron doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.09.22.753449 Maheshi E Dharmasiri 1 Saint Mary's University; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site ORCID record for Maheshi E Dharmasiri For correspondence: maheshi.dharmasiri{at}smu.ca Zoe Lindo 2 University of Western Ontario Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site ORCID record for Zoe Lindo Erin K Cameron 1 Saint Mary's University; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site ORCID record for Erin K Cameron Abstract Info/History Metrics Supplementary material Preview PDF Abstract Soil is one of the most biodiverse habitats on the planet, yet the extent of soil biodiversity knowledge in Canada is unknown. To better understand our knowledge, we systematically mapped soil invertebrate biodiversity knowledge from peer-reviewed literature to identify spatial and taxonomic gaps and to assess whether areas projected to experience different magnitudes of climate change are adequately sampled. A total of 1,176 Canadian sampling locations were identified from 427 articles. We found biases in sampling coverage spatially and in relation to current and projected climatic conditions. The geographic region above 60 degrees North is sparsely sampled. Colder regions ( 1.59 C) magnitudes in temperature change and regions projected to have moderate (-2.06 to +2.69 mm) to large changes (+2.69 to +7.44 mm) in precipitation were underrepresented. The sampled locations also suffer from taxonomic biases which were skewed toward Nematoda (19%), Annelida (18%), Acari (15%), and Collembola (14%). Our results suggest that methods such as stratified sampling is essential to capture underrepresented regions, taxonomic groups, and an array of current and projected climatic conditions. Additionally, shifting to a multispecies sampling approach is essential for broader soil ecosystem knowledge. Importantly, data from well-sampled areas should be examined to determine how it can be leveraged to advance conservation management of soil invertebrates. Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. Funder Information Declared Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, https://ror.org/01h531d29 , RGPIN-2019-05758 , PGS D grant #601407 Saint Mary's University , Saint Mary’s University Durland Scholarship in Graduate Research Copyright The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license . Back to top Previous Next Posted September 23, 2026. Download PDF Supplementary Material Email Thank you for your interest in spreading the word about bioRxiv. NOTE: Your email address is requested solely to identify you as the sender of this article. Your Email * Your Name * Send To * Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas. You are going to email the following A systematic map of soil invertebrate biodiversity in Canada: Identifying spatial and taxonomic knowledge gaps Message Subject (Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from bioRxiv Message Body (Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from the bioRxiv website. Your Personal Message CAPTCHA This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions. Share A systematic map of soil invertebrate biodiversity in Canada: Identifying spatial and taxonomic knowledge gaps Maheshi E Dharmasiri , Zoe Lindo , Erin K Cameron bioRxiv 2026.09.22.753449; doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.09.22.753449 Share This Article: Copy Citation Tools A systematic map of soil invertebrate biodiversity in Canada: Identifying spatial and taxonomic knowledge gaps Maheshi E Dharmasiri , Zoe Lindo , Erin K Cameron bioRxiv 2026.09.22.753449; doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.09.22.753449 Citation Manager Formats BibTeX Bookends EasyBib EndNote (tagged) EndNote 8 (xml) Medlars Mendeley Papers RefWorks Tagged Ref Manager RIS Zotero Tweet Widget Facebook Like Google Plus One Subject Areas All Articles Animal Behavior and Cognition (8021) Biochemistry (18781) Bioengineering (14921) Bioinformatics (44492) Biophysics (22625) Cancer Biology (19761) Cell Biology (26945) Clinical Trials (138) Developmental Biology (13993) Ecology (21037) Epidemiology (2067) Evolutionary Biology (25473) Genetics (16185) Genomics (23535) Immunology (18725) Microbiology (42548) Molecular Biology (18095) Neuroscience (93601) Paleontology (701) Pathology (2987) Pharmacology and Toxicology (5104) Physiology (8127) Plant Biology (16020) Scientific Communication and Education (2097) Synthetic Biology (4572) Systems Biology (10251) Zoology (2393)
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