Abstract

Spatial scaling and determinism of the wide-scale distribution of macroorganism diversity has
been largely demonstrated over a century. For microorganisms, and especially for soil bac-
teria, this fundamental question requires more thorough investigation, as little information
has been reported to date. Here by applying the taxa-area relationship to the largest spatially
explicit soil sampling available in France (2,085 soils, area covered  ~ 5.3x10^5 km2) and
developing an innovative evaluation of the habitat-area relationship, we show that the
turnover rate of bacterial diversity in soils on a wide scale is highly significant and strongly
correlated with the turnover rate of soil habitat. As the diversity of micro- and macro-
organisms appears to be driven by similar processes (dispersal and selection), maintaining
diverse and spatially structured habitats is essential for soil biological patrimony and the
resulting ecosystem services.