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Soils from medium- (alfalfa) or long-term (tall-fescue pasture) perennial cropping systems, which represent systems with relatively little disturbance, were collected across the three geographic regions of North Carolina and evaluated as potential reference sites for monitoring the ecological condition of soils for annual crops (e.g. soybeans). Maturity (based on life history characteristics) and trophic diversity indices of soil nematode communities were quantified for all soils to determine the successional status and relative abundance of trophic groups, respectively, in agricultural soils. The distribution and range of maturity index values for plant-feeding nematodes were greater for perennial than annual crops. The relative distribution of nematode trophic groups (bacterial-feeders, fungal-feeders, plant-feeders, omnivores, and predators) was similar among annual and perennial cropping systems. The ratios of fungal …