Earthworm distributions are not driven by measurable soil properties. Do they really indicate soil quality?
Earthworm distributions are not driven by measurable soil properties. Do they really indicate soil quality?
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DOI：
10.1371/journal.pone.0241945
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发表时间：
2021
期刊：
影响因子：
3.7
通讯作者：
Eggleton P
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Hodson ME;Corstanjeb R;Jones DT;Witton J;Burton VJ;Sloan T;Eggleton P
蚯蚓在农田中的数量和分布经常被认为是衡量土壤质量的一个指标，假设所观察到的丰富模式是对改善或退化的环境条件的反应。然而，正如达尔文的最后出版物中所指出的那样，目前尚不清楚土壤丰度是否与土壤环境直接相关，这可能限制或限制了它们作为任何特定领域生态质量指标的价值。我们目前的结果，从一个空间上明确的密集调查的牧场在英国的农场，寻找在一系列尺度的主要驱动程序的密度。在描述任何给定区域内总的和特定生态类型的浮游植物丰度的空间变异性时，最好的预测因子是采样点20-30 m范围内的浮游植物丰度本身;没有一致的环境相关性，表明生物因素，（例如，定殖率、竞争、捕食、寄生）驱动或至少显著地改变在该空间水平上的寄生虫分布。然而，在全国范围内，土壤硝酸盐水平，密度，温度和水分含量，虽然不是一个简单的线性方式，可以很好地预测土壤中的硝酸盐丰度。这表明，尽管可以在农场规模上管理土地，以促进土壤丰度和由此产生的提供生态系统服务的土壤过程，但在田间，土壤分布仍将是不均匀的。因此，使用蚯蚓作为土壤质量指标时必须小心，确保在田间采集足够的样本，以考虑到蚯蚓种群的变异性，而这种变异性与土壤的化学和物理性质无关。
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 abundance itself within 20–30 m of the sampling point; there were no consistent environmental correlates with earthworm numbers, suggesting that biological factors (e.g. colonisation rate, competition, predation, parasitism) drive or at least significantly modify earthworm distributions at this spatial level. However, at the national scale, earthworm abundance is well predicted by soil nitrate levels, density, temperature and moisture content, albeit not in a simple linear fashion. This suggests that although land can be managed at the farm scale to promote earthworm abundance and the resulting soil processes that deliver ecosystem services, within a field, earthworm distributions will remain patchy. The use of earthworms as soil quality indicators must therefore be carried out with care, ensuring that sufficient samples are taken within field to take account of variability in earthworm populations that is unrelated to soil chemical and physical properties.
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影响因子：
9.7
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