Data and code from: Biotic and abiotic drivers of ecosystem functioning differ between a temperate and a tropical region

Aim: Any single ecosystem will provide many ecosystem functions. Yet, we lack large-scale, systematic studies of how abiotic factors can directly or indirectly – via effects on biodiversity – drive ecosystem functioning. In this study, we assessed the impact of climate, landscape and biotic community on ecosystem functioning in the temperate and tropical zone, with potential trade-offs among ecosystem functions in both zones. Location: Sweden and Madagascar Time period: 2019 to 2020 Major taxa studied: Insecta Methods: We measured a diverse set of insect-related functions — including herbivory, seed dispersal, predation, decomposition and pollination — at 50 sites across Madagascar and 171 sites across Sweden, while characterizing the insect community at each site. Results: For the temperate zone, we found that abiotic factors were most important in driving ecosystem functioning, while in the tropical zone, effects of biotic drivers were most pronounced. In the temperate zone, most functions were uncorrelated, but in the tropical zone, most ecosystem functions increased in concert. Main conclusions: Our study suggests that the functioning of temperate and tropical ecosystems differs fundamentally in terms of patterns and drivers. To identify global patterns and drivers of ecosystem functioning, and to predict future ecosystem functioning, we next need further replication across biomes. To resolve the drivers behind ecosystem functioning across climatic zones, we took measurements across the full latitudinal and longitudinal range of a temperate country, Sweden, as well as a tropical country, Madagascar. At each of the sites, we conducted experiments on ecosystem functions, collected insects with a Malaise trap, and measured several climate and landscape variables. The ecosystem functions included: Herbivory, seed dispersa, predation, decomposition (microbial and invertebrate) and pollination. To quantify abiotic impacts on ecosystem functioning, we obtained data on climate and landscape characteristics. We collected data on temperature (2 meters height) and vegetation cover (high vegetation) from the ERA5-land database. Soil moisture and leaf litter were measured at each site, at five locations around the trap. To investigate whether ecosystem functioning was driven by biotic factors, i.e., insect communities, we set up a Malaise trap at each experimental site. From the collected insect samples, we obtained insect biomass, species richness and community composition as metrics for the biotic community. # Data and code from: Biotic and abiotic drivers of ecosystem functioning differ between a temperate and a tropical region [doi.org](doi.org) ## Description of the data and file structure ### **Data** #### File: Madagascar_ecosystem_function_data.xlsx **Description**: site-level description of abiotic and landscape variables ##### Variables: all variables and units are described in detail in the Metadata sheet. They include: * Site information: TrapID, site name, date and location * Abiotic predictors: temperature, soil moisture, vegetation cover and leaf litter depth * Biotic predictors: insect biomass, insect richness, community composition * Ecosystem functions: herbivory, seed dispersal, predation, microbial decomposition, invertebrate decomposition, pollination and ecosystem multifunctionality #### File: Sweden_ecosystem_function_data.xlsx **Description**: site-level description of abiotic and landscape variables ##### Variables: all variables and units are described in detail in the Metadata sheet. They include: * Site information: TrapID, site name, date and location * Abiotic predictors: temperature, soil moisture, vegetation cover and leaf litter depth * Biotic predictors: insect biomass, insect richness, community composition * Ecosystem functions: herbivory, seed dispersal, predation, microbial decomposition, invertebrate decomposition, pollination and ecosystem multifunctionality #### File: Madagascar_community_data_raw.csv **Description**: raw datasets on community composition for Madagascar ##### Variables:  * trapID * All following columns: all separate species clusters as identified by metabarcoding and the bioinformatic pipeline (see Materials and Methods). 0 = species cluster is absent from a trap; 1 = species cluster is present in a trap #### File: Sweden_community_data_raw.csv **Description**: raw datasets on community composition for Madagascar ##### Variables:  * trapID * All following columns: all separate species clusters as identified by metabarcoding and the bioinformatic pipeline (see Materials and Methods). 0 = species cluster is absent from a trap; 1 = species cluster is present in a trap ## **Scripts** Scripts marked with \_SWE belong to the analysis on ecosystem functioning in Sweden, whereas scripts marked with \_MAD belong to the analysis on ecosystem functioning in Madagascar. #### File: 1_Community_composition_MAD.R **Description**: Represents the community data analysis for the Madagascar communities #### File: 2_SEM_model_MAD.R **Description**: Represents the SEM model performed on the Madagascar data to derive the abiotic and biotic drivers behind ecosystem functionin #### File: 3_Correlation_analyses_MAD.R **Description**: Represents the SEM model performed on the Madagascar data to derive the abiotic and biotic drivers behind ecosystem functioning #### File: 1_community_composition_SWE.R **Description**: Represents the community data analysis for the Swedish communities #### File: 2_SEM_model_SWE.R **Description**: Represents the SEM model performed on the Swedish data to derive the abiotic and biotic drivers behind ecosystem functioning #### File: 3_Correlation_analyses_SWE.R **Description**: Represents the analysis on correlation among ecosystem functions in Sweden, after accounting for abiotic and biotic covariates. #### Sharing/Access information Data was derived from the following sources: * ERA5-Land