Occurrence and distribution of earthworms in agricultural landscapes across Europe with regard to testing for responses to plant protection products

Dinter, Axel; Oberwalder, Christian; Kabouw, Patrick; Coulson, Mike; Ernst, Gregor; Leicher, T.; Miles, Mark; Weyman, Gabe; Klein, Olaf

doi:10.1007/s11368-012-0620-z

Cited by 20 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Cover crops are grown over the autumn and winter period, so the expected impact on soil biology was small, due to the timescale of the experiment and the seasonality of mesofauna (Olejniczak, ) and macrofauna (Eggleton, Inward, Smith, Jones, & Sherlock, ) populations. Earthworm abundance was higher than expected for arable fields (with over 700 per m 2 across treatments and fields) and was similar to those normally found in pasture (Chan, ), rather than conventional or no‐till arable fields in the UK and across Europe (Dinter et al, ). Reducing soil disturbance through minimum tillage, cutting straw rather than baling, and being a heavy clay soil are all likely to have contributed to increasing earthworm numbers.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 73%

The legacy of cover crops on the soil habitat and ecosystem services in a heavy clay, minimum tillage rotation

Crotty

Stoate

2019

Food and Energy Security

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Cover crops are grown as potential ways to improve soil fertility, soil structure, and biodiversity, while reducing weed/pest burdens. Yet, increased costs (in both time and fuel), farmer knowledge requirements, and yield uncertainty (green bridge effect and variable crop establishment) have led to hesitation among farmers. This study was conducted at the field scale (covering an area of nearly 20 hectares) to determine whether different cover crop mixtures affected soil properties and ecosystem services on a heavy clay soil. Measurements of soil chemistry, physics, biology, weed abundance, and subsequent crop performance were taken within a minimum tillage management system, across three cover crop mixtures (commonly sold to UK farmers). The cover crop mixtures included oats (Avena sativa), radish (Raphanus sativus), phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia), vetch (Vicia sativa), legumes, buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) and a bare stubble control followed by a spring oat crop. Soil physics (penetrometer and bulk density) and chemistry (N, P, K, Mg, Ca, and organic matter) varied little across treatments, although there was significantly lower Mg in the cover crop including legumes and an increase in NO3 within this treatment. Soil biology and botanical composition were also assessed, monitoring earthworm and mesofauna abundance; and sown and unsown (weed) biomass. Epigeic earthworms were found to have significantly larger abundance in cover crop mixtures with radish present, although other meso‐ and macrofauna did not differ. Significant weed suppression was found during both the cover crop growing period and as a legacy in the subsequent crop, leading to significant yield increases and economic benefits in some treatments. Our study confirms that cover crops are providing benefits, even on heavy clay soils, including improvements in nutrient leaching risk reduction, weed suppression, and crop yield, coupled with wider ecosystem benefits. We therefore consider cover crops to have a role in sustainable management of arable rotations.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 73%

The legacy of cover crops on the soil habitat and ecosystem services in a heavy clay, minimum tillage rotation

Crotty

Stoate

2019

Food and Energy Security

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“…A concurrent study conducted a few 100 m away on the effects of biochar on earthworms in annual cropping systems (Tammeorg et al 2014) also found that A. caliginosa was the dominant species. These results are in line with the reports that A. caliginosa and L. terrestris are the most common earthworm species in northern Europe (Dinter et al 2013) and in arable fields in southern Finland (Nuutinen and Butt 2009;Nieminen et al 2011), and all life stages of these two species can overwinter (Nuutinen and Butt 2009). As for L. rubellus, it is likely that galega leaf litter provided suitable forage, supporting rapid growth of individuals as was seen with alfalfa and red clover in laboratory feeding studies (Shipitalo et al 1988).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

“…Complementary effects have been shown between legume and non-legume species (Tilman et al 1997), and earthworm populations were larger and more diverse in tropical and temperate grass-legume mixtures than in pure stands of the grass (Zou and Bashkin 1998;Schmidt et al 2003). Earthworm populations generally show a strong negative response to fertilizers and pesticides (Lovell et al 1995;Dinter et al 2013), so more earthworms have been found in organic than conventional farms (Peres et al 1998;Carey et al 2009). Tillage has shown negative effects on earthworm communities in Finland (Nieminen et al 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Earthworm communities under boreal grass and legume bioenergy crops in pure stands and mixtures

Epie¹,

Cass²,

Stoddard³

2015

Pedobiologia

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“…The most abundant species in our research, Aporrectodea caliginosa, belongs to the quite common earthworm species in Europe. The assessment of earthworm field studies from six different European countries revealed that endogeic species Aporrectodea caliginosa, Aporrectodea rosea and Allolobophora chlorotica are the dominant ecological group [40]. Aporrectodea caliginosa was confirmed as the second most numerous species in a British earthworm dataset [41].…”

Section: Earthworm Biomass Density and Diversity In Differently Manamentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of Relationships between Earthworms and Soil Abiotic and Biotic Factors as a Tool in Sustainable Agricultural

et al. 2016

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Earthworms are a major component of soil fauna communities. They influence soil chemical, biological, and physical processes and vice versa, their abundance and diversity are influenced by natural characteristics or land management practices. There is need to establish their characteristics and relations. In this study earthworm density (ED), body biomass (EB), and diversity in relation to land use (arable land-AL, permanent grasslands-PG), management, and selected abiotic (soil chemical, physical, climate related) and biotic (arthropod density and biomass, ground beetle density, carabid density) indicators were analysed at seven different study sites in Slovakia. On average, the density of earthworms was nearly twice as high in PG compared to AL. Among five soil types used as arable land, Fluvisols created the most suitable conditions for earthworm abundance and biomass. We recorded a significant correlation between ED, EB and soil moisture in arable land. In permanent grasslands, the main climate related factor was soil temperature. Relationships between earthworms and some chemical properties (pH, available nutrients) were observed only in arable land. Our findings indicate trophic interaction between earthworms and carabids in organically managed arable land. Comprehensive assessment of observed relationships can help in earthworm management to achieve sustainable agricultural systems.

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Occurrence and distribution of earthworms in agricultural landscapes across Europe with regard to testing for responses to plant protection products

Cited by 20 publications

References 23 publications

The legacy of cover crops on the soil habitat and ecosystem services in a heavy clay, minimum tillage rotation

The legacy of cover crops on the soil habitat and ecosystem services in a heavy clay, minimum tillage rotation

Earthworm communities under boreal grass and legume bioenergy crops in pure stands and mixtures

Assessment of Relationships between Earthworms and Soil Abiotic and Biotic Factors as a Tool in Sustainable Agricultural

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