Welcome to Chinese Journal of Ecology! Today is Share:

cje

Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effects of different land use types on spatial-temporal distribution of earthworm density and biomass.

WANG Shao-jun1,2*, WANG Hong1, LI Ji-hang1#br#   

  1. (1Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China; 2Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, College of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China).
  • Online:2017-01-10 Published:2017-01-10

Abstract: To understand the effect of land use change on spatial-temporal distribution of earthworms, we surveyed the vertical distribution and seasonal dynamics of earthworm density and biomass across the three land use types (i.e., urban forest, open forest and seedling nursery), and analyzed the effect of soil physicochemical properties on earthworm density and biomass induced by land use change. We found that: (1) The density of earthworms was ranked as urban forest (59 ind·m-2) > seedling nursery (24.7 ind·m-2) > open forest (ind·m-2), showing a significant influence of land use change on earthworm density; however, the effect of land use change on earthworm biomass was not significant; (2) The density and biomass of earthworms were ranked in the order of urban forest> open forest> seedling nursery, and a significant effect of land use change on the vertical distribution of earthworm density and biomass was observed. The density and biomass of earthworms were greater in wet season than in dry season, which was closely related to soil moisture; (3) The density and biomass of earthworms were in the order of 0-5, 5-10, and 10-15 cm soil layer, which was closely related with the vertical change of soil moisture, soil organic matter and total nitrogen; (4) Earthworm density was significantly positively correlated with soil moisture, pH and soil organic matter, while earthworm biomass had significant positive correlation with soil moisture and soil organic matter. Therefore, the change of land use type played a critical controlling role in the spatialtemporal dynamics of earthworm density and biomass mainly through its effect on the soil environment, and the greatest abundance of earthworm was found in the urban forest.