Earthworms – good indicators for forest disturbance
Journal Title: Journal of BioScience and Biotechnology - Year 2014, Vol 3, Issue 2
Abstract
In temperate forests, formation of canopy gaps by windthrow is a characteristic natural disturbance event. Little work has been done on the effects of canopy gaps on soil properties and fauna, especially earthworms as ecosystem engineers. We conducted a study to examine the reaction of earthworms (density/biomass) and different soil properties (i.e., soil moisture, pH, organic matter, total N, and available Ca) to different canopy gap areas in 25-ha areas of Liresar district beech forest located in a temperate forest of Mazandaran province in the north of Iran. Soil samples were taken at 0-15, 15-30 and 30-45 cm depths from gap center, gap edge and closed canopy using core soil sampler with 81 cm2 cross section. The earthworms were collected simultaneously with the soil sampling by hand sorting method. Our study supports that the canopy gap will create a mosaic of environmental conditions. Earthworm's density and biomass tended to be higher in small canopy gaps compared with the other canopy gap areas. Earthworm's population showed decreasing trend from closed canopy to disturbed sites (gap edge and gap center). The top soil was more appropriate to presence of earthworms although ecological groups have occupied different soil layers. As a conclusion, earthworms can be introduced as good bio-indicator of environmental changes that occur by disturbance.
Authors and Affiliations
Yahya Kooch, Katayoun Haghverdi
Keywords
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