Résumé
The #Vers2022 dataset aims to understand how earthworm assemblages and diversity have changed over the last 50 years in mainland France, in semi-natural habitats.
The dataset includes:
(1) Historical data from Bouché (1972): A standardized, computerized format of earthworm assemblage data (including absence data) from 1,399 sites, comprising 36,079 individual earthworm records across 127 species and subspecies from the 1961-1970 period.
(2) The #Vers2022 resurvey data: Assemblage data from 418 sites resampled between 2019 and 2023, previously sampled in Bouché (1972). This dataset includes 11,137 individual records (22,344 including unidentified specimens), documenting 122 species and subspecies.
(3) Mass data: Information on individual body mass and total earthworm biomass per assemblage from the 2019-2023 data.
(4) Site description and soil analysis: Data from both historical (1961-1970) and resurveyed (2019-2023) sites, providing insight into environmental conditions, in English.
(5) Updated taxonomy: A revised classification of species and subspecies names used by Bouché (1972) in light of current taxonomy, facilitating better interpretation and providing standardized names for future studies using this dataset.
The dataset is structured into the following files:
MetadataS1.pdf: Thorough description and overview of the data.
VERS2022_assemblages.csv: Contains assemblage data from historical and resurvey sites, including individual body mass and biomass information.
VERS2022_stations.csv: Contains site descriptions and soil analysis results.
VERS2022_taxonomy.csv: Contains updated taxonomy information.
For a detailed description of the dataset, refer to Gérard et al. (2025) (https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.70109).
For the most recent version of this dataset, see 10.5281/zenodo.14990040.