Contribution of anecic earthworms to biopore formation during cultivation of perennial ley crops

Kautz, Timo; Lüsebrink, Marcel; Pätzold, Stefan; Vetterlein, Doris; Pude, Ralf; Athmann, Miriam; Küpper, Paul Martin; Perkons, Ute; Köpke, Ulrich

doi:10.1016/j.pedobi.2013.09.008

Cited by 48 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…refs 12, 16 and 17). In the experiment we used four adult, healthy earthworms with a body weight between 3 to 5 g each per experimental unit; the individuals were carefully washed, dried on filter paper and weighed prior to their addition to the experimental pots.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microplastic transport in soil by earthworms

Rillig

Ziersch

Hempel

2017

Sci Rep

640

258

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Despite great general benefits derived from plastic use, accumulation of plastic material in ecosystems, and especially microplastic, is becoming an increasing environmental concern. Microplastic has been extensively studied in aquatic environments, with very few studies focusing on soils. We here tested the idea that microplastic particles (polyethylene beads) could be transported from the soil surface down the soil profile via earthworms. We used Lumbricus terrestris L., an anecic earthworm species, in a factorial greenhouse experiment with four different microplastic sizes. Presence of earthworms greatly increased the presence of microplastic particles at depth (we examined 3 soil layers, each 3.5 cm deep), with smaller PE microbeads having been transported downward to a greater extent. Our study clearly shows that earthworms can be significant transport agents of microplastics in soils, incorporating this material into soil, likely via casts, burrows (affecting soil hydraulics), egestion and adherence to the earthworm exterior. This movement has potential consequences for exposure of other soil biota to microplastics, for the residence times of microplastic at greater depth, and for the possible eventual arrival of microplastics in the groundwater.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microplastic transport in soil by earthworms

Rillig

Ziersch

Hempel

2017

Sci Rep

640

258

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“…Biopores with three different histories were considered: the type of the biopore was classified with the help of an endoscopice. Herefore, a videoscope (Karl Storz GmbH, Tuttlingen, Germany, outer diameter of 3.8 mm, with a 0 • direction of view and a flare angle of 80 • ) was carefully inserted into the macroscopic biopore (Athmann et al, 2013;Kautz et al, 2014). For more details about the used equipment see Athmann et al (2013).…”

Section: Soil Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of Small-Scaled Differences in Micro-Aggregation on Physico-Chemical Parameters of Macroscopic Biopore Walls

Haas

Horn

2018

Front. Environ. Sci.

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Macroscopic biopores, like earthworm burrows or channels which remain after a root decayed, act as preferential flow paths for water, gas, and heat transport processes, and viewing at agricultural production, as preferential elongation paths for plant roots. These processes result in intense alterations of the soil volume and its composition that surrounds the pores. The effects of these processes were analyzed at small-scale and physico-chemical soil parameters, i.e., relative oxygen diffusion coefficient (D s /D O ), oxygen partial pressure pO 2 , Eh and pH of biopore walls, were measured. The analyses were carried out on undisturbed soil samples with different colonization history, excavated from a haplic Luvisol derived from loess. Soil resistance to penetration was determined simultaneously with D s /D O and pO 2 using a coupled, self-developed approach, and four matric potentials (namely, m = −1 kPa; −3 kPa; −6 kPa or −30 kPa) were considered. We hypothesized that physico-chemical soil parameters in biopore walls were altered due to differing influences on the soil aggregation. Aggregation was visualized with scanning electron microscopy, classified and used to explain differences in-soil properties. Plant roots and earthworms altered aggregation next to biopore surfaces in a contrasted way, either by enhancing aggregates diversity or homogenizing it. Roots led to the formation of subpolyeders while earthworms formed subplates. Pore functions of microaggregates were comparable to those of larger scale, and subpolyeders showed much more favorable soil properties in terms of soil aeration (Ds/Do, pO2). Replicates of all parameters scattered intensely and showed deviations up to several orders of magnitude in case of D s /D O underlining the large variability of soil properties in biopore walls.

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“…Large taproots can penetrate the compact subsoil (Materechera et al 1992), create and leave round-shaped void channels (McCallum et al 2004;Han et al 2015), otherwise called biopores (>2 mm in diameter; Kautz 2014), after the root materials are decayed (Jones et al 2014;Kautz et al 2014). Biopores can be used as preferential pathways for root growth (Valentine et al 2012;Kautz 2014) and give plants access to the subsoil resources (Kautz et al 2013a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Root growth dynamics inside and outside of soil biopores as affected by crop sequence determined with the profile wall method

et al. 2015

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Taprooting crop species are capable of creating soil biopores (>2 mm in diameter) in the subsoil due to their large root size and deep-rooting habit. The aim of this study was to quantify root growth dynamics of wheat in the subsoil during its complete growth season as affected by crop sequence. Temporal observation on root length (km m −2 ) of wheat inside and outside of biopores at four growth stages (tillering, booting, anthesis, and milk) was conducted by using the profile wall method under the two crop sequence treatments involving two precrops, viz., chicory and tall fescue. Frequency of biopore presence measured on vertical profile walls depended on the choice of precrops in which chicory precrop resulted in higher frequency (2.3 %) compared with tall fescue (1.5 %). Root length of wheat measured inside biopores was significantly higher when grown after chicory (0.024 km m −2 ) in comparison to tall fescue (0.006 km m −2 ). On average, root length outside biopores after growing chicory was 45.9 % higher than tall fescue until the stage of anthesis. We conclude that at the site under study biopores as pathways for rapid root growth into deeper soil layers allow roots to re-enter and explore the subsoil. Thus, cereals cultivated in rotation with taprooted crops can draw benefit from enhanced uptake of water and nutrients from deeper soil layers during early growth stages. Model simulations with various abiotic and biotic factors will be helpful to reveal the direct evidence of biopore-root-shoot relationship in the future.

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Contribution of anecic earthworms to biopore formation during cultivation of perennial ley crops

Cited by 48 publications

References 46 publications

Microplastic transport in soil by earthworms

Microplastic transport in soil by earthworms

Impact of Small-Scaled Differences in Micro-Aggregation on Physico-Chemical Parameters of Macroscopic Biopore Walls

Root growth dynamics inside and outside of soil biopores as affected by crop sequence determined with the profile wall method

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