Belowground eco-restoration of a suburban waste-storage landscape: Earthworm dynamics in grassland and in a succession of woody vegetation covers.

ABSTRACT: Restoration of belowground ecology is seldom a priority in designing revegetation strategies for disturbed landscapes. We determined earthworm abundance and diversity in a 16-year old grass sward (grassland), a 6-year old (Plantation-04) and a 4-year old (Plantation-06) plantation, both of mixed woody species, on a reclaimed waste disposal site, and in nearby remnant woodland, in suburban Sydney, Australia. While no catches were made in autumn, more earthworms were found in spring (21 ± 8.6 m^-2) than in winter (10.2 ± 5.9 m^-2) or summer (14.4 ± 5.5 m^-2). Earthworm abundance in spring was in the order grassland ≈ Plantation-04 (35.2 m^-2) > woodland (12.8 m^-2) > Plantation-06 (0.8 m^-2). None of the revegetated covers had resto

SUBMITTER: Morales PK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4275031 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature