Abstract

The number and diversity of above-ground arthropods has decreased significantly over the last 15-20 years, while less is known about changes in soil biodiversity. Here, we analysed a comprehensive dataset of soil-living meso- and macrofauna in forests differing in land-use intensity in three regions in Germany, spanning 12 years from 2008 to 2020. Neither density, species richness nor gamma diversity of soil fauna declined, suggesting contrasting above- and belowground dynamics of biodiversity. The community stability of most taxa was not directly related to forest management, but strongly correlated with asynchrony of species-fluctuations. However, mainly synchronous fluctuations suggest that variations of abiotic conditions, such as soil moisture, overprinted biotic drivers of stability, particularly in soil mesofauna. While documenting a remarkable resilience of forest soil animals to the ongoing biodiversity decline, our findings contribute to understanding the temporal patterns of soil fauna density and diversity and the drivers of community stability.