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Numbers of species above ground and below ground may be correlated when taxa in both realms respond similarly to the same or correlated environmental driving variables, especially across large gradients of disturbance, climate, soil conditions, or geographic area. In such cases, diversity in the two domains is not necessarily causally linked. Numerous examples illustrate that conversion of natural ecosystems to agriculture decreases both plant diversity aboveground and soil macrofaunal diversity belowground (Lavelle et al. 1994, Lavelle 1996, Wardle and Lavelle 1997). Coffee plantations exhibit a range of plant diversity, depending on management; as plantations are simplified aboveground, they show a significant decline in ant (Perfecto and Snelling 1995) and scarabaeid beetle (Nestel et al. 1993) diversity. Disturbance from land use change decreases species richness and abundance for plants, termites …