exotic earthworm invasion
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2006 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 845-854 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Wironen ◽  
T R Moore

To test whether invasion of exotic earthworms affects soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N), we sampled the litter and upper mineral soil (to 30 cm) at a series of sites varying in their earthworm populations in an old-growth beech–maple forest at Mont St. Hilaire, southern Quebec. We measured earthworm abundance and biomass using hand-sorting and chemical extraction (allyl isothiocyanate) methods. They gave similar results, though there was evidence of size and species-specific biases. Abundance and biomass of the earthworms ranged from <10 to >100 earthworms·m–2 and from <10 to 125 g·m–2, respectively, and were correlated with distance from a nearby lake (negatively) and soil pH (positively). The presence of earthworms was associated with a decrease in the mass and thickness and an increase in the C/N quotient of the litter layer. There were no significant changes in C and N mass of the mineral soil between 0 and 10 cm, but the underlying layers (10–20 and 20–30 cm) in sites with >10 earthworms·m–2 showed significantly (p < 0.05) greater concentrations and masses of both C and N than did sites with <10 earthworms·m–2. The overall profile (litter plus soil to 30 cm) average C was 13.7 and 10.1 kg·m–2 with and without earthworms, respectively, and the equivalent figures for N were 1.01 and 0.68 kg·m–2. These results demonstrate that invasion of earthworms into deciduous forests affects both the litter and mineral soil, and sampling to a depth of 30 cm suggests that earthworm invasion (from <10 to >10 earthworms·m–2) may increase overall C and N.


2005 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 1075-1083 ◽  
Author(s):  
MICHAEL J. GUNDALE ◽  
WILLIAM M. JOLLY ◽  
THOMAS H. DELUCA

Ecosystems ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick J. Bohlen ◽  
Peter M. Groffman ◽  
Timothy J. Fahey ◽  
Melany C. Fisk ◽  
Esteban Suarez ◽  
...  

Ecosystems ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter M. Groffman ◽  
Patrick J. Bohlen ◽  
Melany C. Fisk ◽  
Timothy J. Fahey

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