Journal
SOIL BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY
Volume 144, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2020.107777
Keywords
C inputs; Plantations; Soil fauna; Substrate; Habitat condition
Categories
Funding
- National Key Research and Development Program [2017YFC0505403-04]
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [U1131001, 41771278]
- Science and Technology Program of Guangzhou City [201707010344]
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Despite the importance of earthworms to making soils productive, little is known regarding the relative importance of maintenance of the various types of earthworm populations. In this study, we assessed the impact of long-term removal of two potential sources of carbon input, viz. plant litter and roots, on earthworms of Amynthas sp. (epigeic) and Pontoscolex corethrurus (endogeic) that reside at and below the soil surface and primarily rely on litter and/or soil organic matter as a food source, in two different subtropical monoculture plantations. We found that Amynthas sp. disappeared and the density and biomass of Pontoscolex corethrurus was significantly reduced under litter removal treatment, whether roots were removed or not. In contrast, root removal had no significant impact on the density and biomass of both earthworm species. The results suggest that leaf litter, rather than roots, played key roles in maintaining the populations of both the epigeic Amynthas sp. and endogeic Pontoscolex corethrurus earthworms.
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