Earthworms are an important soil taxon as ecosystem engineers, providing a variety of crucial ecosystem functions and services. Little is known about their diversity and distribution at large spatial scales, despite the availability of considerable amounts of local-scale data. Earthworm diversity data, obtained from the primary literature or provided directly by authors, were collated with information on site locations, including coordinates, habitat cover, and soil properties. Datasets were required, at a minimum, to include abundance or biomass of earthworms at a site. Where possible, site-level species lists were included, as well as the abundance and biomass of individual species and ecological groups. This global dataset contains 10,840 sites, with 184 species, from 60 countries and all continents except Antarctica. The data were obtained from 182 published articles, published between 1973 and 2017, and 17 unpublished datasets. Amalgamating data into a single global database will assist researchers in investigating and answering a wide variety of pressing questions, for example, jointly assessing aboveground and belowground biodiversity distributions and drivers of biodiversity change.

Research Highlights: It was found that both tree species and ground vegetation affected soil carbon stock in boreal forests. Carbon stocks in the mineral layers were related negatively to the C/N ratio in the organic horizon and pine proportion in the growing stock volume, and positively to the share of herbaceous plants and the proportion of spruce. Background and Objectives: Existing research showed the effects of tree species on soil carbon stocks in organic horizons, but these effects were less clear in mineral horizons. Little is known about the effects of ground vegetation on soil carbon stock. This study aims to identify associations between the forest vegetation composition and soil carbon stocks in northwestern Russia. Materials and Methods: Research data from 109 pine, spruce and birch forests of different Cajander’s and Sukachev’s types with different functional compositions of ground vegetation at autonomous positions are discussed in this paper. The V-test was used to assess the impact of vegetation on soil carbon stocks. Results: Variations in Carbon stocks in the mineral layers were associated with the soil types and vegetation composition. Carbic Albic Podzols accumulated the least amount of carbon in the mineral profile. Carbon stock in the mineral layers in pine forests was considerably lower than in spruce and birch forests. Spruce forests with the highest share of herbaceous plants were characterised by the highest carbon stocks in the mineral layers, while pine forests with dwarf shrubs and green mosses accumulated more carbon in the organic layers, but carbon stocks in the mineral layers here were the lowest. Conclusions: Differences in soil carbon stocks between and within northern and middle taiga in northwestern Russia were associated not only with soil types but also with the proportions of forest types dominated by different tree species and ground vegetation functional groups.