Quantifying the Effects of Earthworms on Soil Aggregation and Porosity

Shipitalo, M. J.; Bayon, Renée‐Claire Le

doi:10.1201/9781420039719.pt5

Cited by 98 publications

(82 citation statements)

References 133 publications

(168 reference statements)

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“…Their activity affects water infiltration (e.g. , nutri-ent cycling (Butenschoen et al, 2009;Sheehan et al, 2006), organic matter cycling (Koutika et al, 2001), soil structure (Shipitalo and Le Bayon, 2004) and horizon texture (Lavelle, 1997;Lavelle et al, 1997). Their potential as bioindicators of landscape structure, land use and soil pollution has been well studied in many ecosystems Published in Applied Soil Ecology 59, 87-95, 2012 which should be used for any reference to this work ( Krivolutsky et al, 1982;Paoletti, 1999;Paoletti et al, 1998;Suthar et al, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns of earthworm communities and species traits in relation to the perturbation gradient of a restored floodplain

Fournier

Samaritani

Shrestha

et al. 2012

Applied Soil Ecology

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a b s t r a c tLittle is known about the diversity and ecology of earthworms in floodplains, as well as their response to natural and anthropic perturbations (e.g. floods, river channelisation, floodplain restoration). We characterised the patterns of earthworm communities and species traits in the different habitats of a lowland restored floodplain in Switzerland. In addition to classical species-based metrics, such as species richness and Shannon diversity, species traits were used to calculate the community weighted means (CWMs) of traits and functional dispersion (FDis). We hypothesised that trait-based metrics would reveal clearer patterns than classical approaches. The distribution of earthworm traits varied among habitats in relation to changes in flooding frequency: poorly developed gravel bar soils most exposed to flooding were characterised by high abundance of small epigeic species and low abundance of large anecic species. Differences in anecic and endogeic earthworm community structure matched flood frequency. In agreement with our hypothesis, CWMs were more strongly correlated to environmental variables than species composition, diversity, or functional diversity. Based on these results, the ratio of the relative abundances of epigeic and anecic species, and the differences in species composition within anecic and endogeic ecological types of earthworms were identified as indicators of soil development in floodplains.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns of earthworm communities and species traits in relation to the perturbation gradient of a restored floodplain

Fournier

Samaritani

Shrestha

et al. 2012

Applied Soil Ecology

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“…As críticas se baseiam principalmente no fato das espécies Eisenia fetida e E. andrei serem tipicamente epigêicas que vivem na serapilheira e em esterco, com pouca atuação direta na estrutura e características de solos minerais (Shipitalo & Bayon 2004, Castellanos & Hernandez 2007. Além disso, os resultados obtidos com E. fetida não permitem extrapolação direta para outras espécies e ela não pode servir como única espécie representativa do ambiente edáfico (Lowe & Butt 2007).…”

Section: Testes De Toxicidadeunclassified

“…Sua importância é imensa visto que têm papel destacado na formação do solo (Righi 1997); na decomposição de resíduos de plantas e ciclagem de nutrientes da matéria orgânica; na formação do húmus e de agregados de solo, onde a atividade biológica é mais intensa; no melhoramento da estrutura, fertilidade, porosidade e capacidade de infiltração, drenagem e retenção de água, ar e também no transporte de microrganismos e nutrientes do solo por meio dos canais formados por sua escavação e seus deslocamentos no solo (Ingham 2006). Nos processos de digestão das minhocas o solo é misturado com muco, que ajuda na agregação de partículas, e a deposição de bolotas fecais, que contém grandes concentrações de nutrientes, ajuda na formação do húmus e na fertilidade do solo (Shipitalo & Bayon 2004). Também atuam no controle de patógenos que podem ser inibidos por produtos de seu metabolismo ou servir de alimentos, e ainda, na degradação de poluentes (Ingham 2006).…”

Section: Introdução: Fundamentação Científicaunclassified

Uso de minhocas como bioindicadores de contaminaçao de solos.

Andréa

2010

AZM

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Bouché, 1972, as qualificaram para testes de toxicidade para fins de registro de agrotóxicos, junto aos órgãos regulamentadores de diversos países. Além da relativa facilidade de criação de E. fetida e E. andrei, as condições desses testes são internacionalmente aceitas e permitem padronização de estudos e comparações internacionais; informam sobre toxicidade relativa às espécies endêmicas; permitem avaliações preliminares em relação a intervalos de doses do poluente para os testes; fornecem estimativas sobre o CENO (concentração sem efeito observável) para exposição contínua, e ajudam no estabelecimento de condições para testes de efeitos subletais e sub-crônicos. Este artigo apresenta resultados e questionamentos de vários estudos ecotoxicológicos com minhocas como bioindicadores de contaminação ambiental. As pesquisas mostraram que a bioacumulação de agrotóxicos, metais, derivados do petróleo, antibióticos e compostos de uso veterinário em minhocas varia conforme a espécie, o composto, concentração, tempo de contato e características do solo. Outras respostas das minhocas em reação a poluentes foram observadas, tais como: variações na produção e peso de casulos; efeitos fisiológicos e deformações, e reações comportamentais de espiralamento, mudanças na capacidade de escavação, agitação e rejeição ao solo contaminado. Verifica-se que o potencial de informações bioindicadoras de poluição provenientes de estudos com minhocas é bastante grande, mas as análises devem levar em conta as espécies, categorias ecológicas, as condições ambientais e as analogias com outros organismos, usos, abusos e misturas de agrotóxicos e outros poluentes. Palavras chave: Agrotóxicos, metais pesados, outros poluentes, bioindicadores, ecotoxicologia. Andréa, M. M. de. 2010. El uso de las lombrices de tierra como bioindicadoras de la contaminación de los suelos. Acta Zoológica Mexicana (n.s.), Número Especial 2: 97-107. RESUMEN. El nicho ecológico de las lombrices de tierra las caracteriza como organismos del suelo muy importantes que se pueden utilizar como bioindicadores ambientales. Las características de las lombrices de tierra, principalmente de Eisenia fetida (Savigny, 1826) y E. andrei Bouché, 1972 las califica para realizar las pruebas de toxicidad requeridas para el registro de plaguicidas en muchos países. Además de la facilidad de cría de E. fetida y E. andrei, las condiciones de estas pruebas son aceptadas internacionalmente, permitiendo la estandarización de los estudios y comparaciones en el ámbito internacional. Los resultados de estas pruebas dan información sobre la relativa toxicidad de una ISSN 0065-1737 Acta Zoológica Mexicana (n.s.) Número Especial 2: 95-107 (2010 Recibido: 16/05/2008; aceptado: 08/01/2010.

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“…Since soil-surface activity is critical for feeding, reproduction, and dispersal of L. terrestris (Mather and Christensen, 1988;Nuutinen and Butt, 1997;Butt et al, 2003) and thereby for the many ecological processes that this species regulates (Lee, 1985;Edwards and Bohlen, 1996;Borken et al, 2000;Shipitalo and Le Bayon, 2004;Milcu et al, 2006;Griffith et al, 2013), we investigated the constraints that a northern light environment imposes on dewworm activity at the soil-surface. We hypothesized that boreal mid-summer white nights severely limit the time available for L. terrestris soil-surface activity, with temperature and humidity also playing an important, but secondary role.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dew-worms in white nights: High-latitude light constrains earthworm (Lumbricus terrestris) behaviour at the soil surface

Nuutinen

Butt

Jauhiainen

et al. 2014

Soil Biology and Biochemistry

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Soil is an effective barrier to light penetration that limits the direct influence of light on belowground organisms. Variation in aboveground light conditions, however, is important to soil-dwelling animals that are periodically active on the soil surface. A prime example is the earthworm Lumbricus terrestris L. (the dew-worm), an ecosystem engineer that emerges nocturnally on the soil surface. In the summer, the northernmost populations of L. terrestris are exposed to a time interval with no daily dark period. During a two-week period preceding the summer solstice, we studied the constraints that boreal night illumination imposes on L. terrestris surface activity by comparing their behaviour under ambient light with artificiallyinduced darkness. Looking for evidence of geographical divergence in light response, we compared the behaviour of native L. terrestris (Jokioinen, S-W Finland; 60º48'N) with two markedly more southern populations, from Preston (Lancashire, UK; 53º47'N) and Coshocton (Ohio, USA; 40º22'N) where the nights have a period of darkness throughout the year (total latitudinal range ca. 2 300 km). Under ambient light conditions, L. terrestris emergence on the soil surface was diminished by half compared with the darkened treatment and it peaked at the darkest period of the night. Also mating rate decreased considerably under ambient light. The native dew-worms were generally the most active under ambient light. They emerged earlier in the evening and ceased their activity later in the morning than dew-worms from the two more southerly populations. The differences in behaviour were, however, significant mainly between native and UK dew-worms. In the darkened treatment, the behaviour of the 2 three earthworm origins did not differ. Under the experimental conditions light condition was the dominant environmental factor controlling surface activity, but elevated night-time air temperature and humidity also encouraged dew-worm emergence without discernible differences among geographical origins. Our results show, that in boreal summer, the high level of night illumination strongly limits soil-surface activity of dew-worms. Considering the important regulatory role of L. terrestris in many ecosystem processes, this can have significant corollaries in dew-worm impacts on the environment. Although evidence for geographical differentiation in behaviour was obtained, the results point to phenotypic flexibility in L. terrestris light response.

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Quantifying the Effects of Earthworms on Soil Aggregation and Porosity

Cited by 98 publications

References 133 publications

Patterns of earthworm communities and species traits in relation to the perturbation gradient of a restored floodplain

Patterns of earthworm communities and species traits in relation to the perturbation gradient of a restored floodplain

Uso de minhocas como bioindicadores de contaminaçao de solos.

Dew-worms in white nights: High-latitude light constrains earthworm (Lumbricus terrestris) behaviour at the soil surface

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