Abundance data from soil macro- and mesofauna of alpine snowbeds in the European Alps (summer 2017)

This dataset represents abundance data from soil macro- and mesofauna from three alpine sites across the European Alps, sampled in summer 2017. The sites were: (1) Furka Pass, Uri, Switzerland, (2) Matsch Valley, South Tyrol, Italy, (3) Untersulzbach Valley, Salzburg, Austria, (4) Mallnitz, Carinthia, Austria, and (5) Innergschlöss, Tyrol, Austria. On each site we chose 3-6 snowbeds, where litter and soil core samples were taken. Each snowbed was subdivided into three sections: top (early snowmelt), middle, and bottom (late snowmelt). The data was used to evaluate how soil animal communities are responding to life conditions across snowbeds along a west-east transect of the European Alps, and to create a reference inventory for future investigations of climate change effects on snowbed ecosystems.