Our knowledge of the factors influencing the distribution of soil
organisms is limited to specific taxonomic groups. Consequently, our
understanding of the drivers shaping the entire soil food web is
constrained. To address this gap, we conducted an extensive soil
biodiversity monitoring program in the French Alps, using environmental
DNA to obtain multi-taxon data from 418 soil samples. The spatial
structure of resulting soil food webs varied significantly between and
within habitats. From forests to grasslands, we observed a shift in the
abundance of trophic groups from fungal to bacterial feeding channels,
reflecting different ecosystem functioning. Furthermore, forest food
webs were more strongly spatially structured which could only partly be
explained by abiotic conditions. Grassland food webs were more strongly
driven by plant community composition and soil characteristics. Our
findings provide valuable insights into how climate and land use changes
may differentially affect soil food webs in mountains.