Jul

26

2007
 
 

Earthworms steal the floor



Invasion by non-native earthworms triggers decline in plant diversity

nobody loves meIf plants are disappearing all around you, check underneath your wellies — it could be down to invading earthworms. Andrew Holdsworth and University of Minnesota colleagues describe in Conservation Biology how declines in plant diversity in two national forests — Chippewa and Chequamegon — can be traced to the recent arrival of European Lumbricus earthworms. Earthworm invasions are associated with the removal of the forest floor, which in turn leads to a reduction in plant species richness. Such a link has been suspected for some time, but difficult to disentangle from other factors, such as browsing pressure from white-tailed deer Odocoileus virginianus. Holdsworth’s analysis reveals the scope of the impact worms have. The good news is that the wriggly ecosystem engineers aren’t exactly the fastest colonizers around, so education and vigilance should help identify and protect those areas most under threat. Source: Holdsworth AR, Frelich LE & Reich PB (2007) Effects of earthworm invasion on plant species richness in Northern hardwood forests. Conservation Biology DOI: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2007.00740.x

Related stories in Conservation magazine: Nonnative Earthworms May Be Wiping Out Rare Plants | Can Rodents Save The Planet?

Image © Tomasz Resiak

Filed Under Habitat, Invasive species, Monitoring | 

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One Response to “Earthworms steal the floor”

  1. Vicious circle : Journal Watch Online on December 12th, 2007 8:41 pm

    […] more of the soil’s carbon will find its way into the atmosphere. If only we had a way to get rid of the extra leaf litter… Source: Sayer EJ, Powers JS & Tanner EVJ (2007) Increased litterfall in tropical forests […]

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