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A better understanding of performance among major ecosystem types is necessary before nematode community indices can be applied at large geographic scales, ranging from regional to global. The objectives of this study were to: (1) determine the inherent variability in soil properties among and within wetland, forest and agricultural ecosystems; (2) compare nematode community composition among and within ecosystem types and report genera detected in wetland soils; (3) determine if community composition or composite indices are able to differentiate type and magnitude of disturbance; (4) identify seasonal responses of nematode communities and indices to disturbance; (5) quantify variance components of nematode community measures at the land resource region (LRR) and ecosystem scale. Nematode communities were extracted from soils in relatively undisturbed and disturbed wetland, forest and …