Earthworm distributions are not driven by measurable soil properties. Do they really indicate soil quality?

ABSTRACT: Abundance and distribution of earthworms in agricultural fields is frequently proposed as a measure of soil quality assuming that observed patterns of abundance are in response to improved or degraded environmental conditions. However, it is not clear that earthworm abundances can be directly related to their edaphic environment, as noted in Darwin's final publication, perhaps limiting or restricting their value as indicators of ecological quality in any given field. We present results from a spatially explicit intensive survey of pastures within United Kingdom farms, looking for the main drivers of earthworm density at a range of scales. When describing spatial variability of both total and ecotype-specific earthworm abundance within any given field, the best predictor was earthworm abund

SUBMITTER: Hodson ME 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8404981 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature