Earthworms increase plant production: a meta-analysis.
Earthworms increase plant production: a meta-analysis.
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DOI：
10.1038/srep06365
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发表时间：
2014-09-15
影响因子：
4.6
通讯作者：
van Groenigen KJ
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
van Groenigen JW;Lubbers IM;Vos HM;Brown GG;De Deyn GB;van Groenigen KJ
为了应对以最小的环境影响养活不断增长的世界人口的挑战，我们需要对影响作物生产的生态因素有全面和定量的了解。蚯蚓是最重要的土壤无脊椎动物之一。它们的活动影响生物和非生物土壤性质，进而影响植物生长。然而，关于蚯蚓存在对作物产量影响的研究还没有定量的综合。在这里，我们使用荟萃分析表明，蚯蚓在农业生态系统中的存在平均导致作物产量增加25%，地上生物量增加23%。这些影响的程度取决于作物残茬的存在、蚯蚓的密度以及施肥的类型和比率。蚯蚓对土壤的积极影响在土壤残渣还田量增加时更大，但在土壤氮有效性高时则消失。这表明蚯蚓主要通过释放锁在残留物和土壤有机质中的氮来刺激植物生长。因此，我们的研究结果表明，蚯蚓对减少不能或不愿使用氮肥的农民的产量差距至关重要。
To meet the challenge of feeding a growing world population with minimal environmental impact, we need comprehensive and quantitative knowledge of ecological factors affecting crop production. Earthworms are among the most important soil dwelling invertebrates. Their activity affects both biotic and abiotic soil properties, in turn affecting plant growth. Yet, studies on the effect of earthworm presence on crop yields have not been quantitatively synthesized. Here we show, using meta-analysis, that on average earthworm presence in agroecosystems leads to a 25% increase in crop yield and a 23% increase in aboveground biomass. The magnitude of these effects depends on presence of crop residue, earthworm density and type and rate of fertilization. The positive effects of earthworms become larger when more residue is returned to the soil, but disappear when soil nitrogen availability is high. This suggests that earthworms stimulate plant growth predominantly through releasing nitrogen locked away in residue and soil organic matter. Our results therefore imply that earthworms are of crucial importance to decrease the yield gap of farmers who can't -or won't- use nitrogen fertilizer.