Earthworms as indicators for different forest management types and human disturbance in Ilam oak forest, Iran

Abstract

There has been observed widespread destruction of natural ecosystems around the world due to population growth, land use change and clear cutting which have affected soil properties. Different management strategies have been so far implemented to reduce this crisis in various regions of the world, such as e.g. short-term and long-term conservation management in the Zagros region. However, any management approach should be evaluated with appropriate measures to determine how managed areas respond. The main objective of the present study was to evaluate the potential of earthworms as an indicator for different forest management strategies and human disturbances in Zagros oak (Quercus persica Jaub. and Spach) forest. The sites selected included undisturbed one as the control (Un), the sites under five-year conservation management (FCM) and twenty-year conservation management (TCM) as well as the disturbed site (D). The results of principal component analysis (PCA) showed that different regions separated into the components: PC1 and PC2. Un and TCM sites gathered together and represented higher values of the factors such as pH, K available , OC, clay content, P available , CEC, overstory tree canopy, N tot , biomass and abundance of earthworms. The positive direction of the first axis reflected a gradient of EC, BD and P tot . According to the logistic model, NH 4 -N and EC played the most important role in earthworm presence and absence in Zagros forest ecosystem. Earthworm abundance and biomass could be a good indicator to evaluate different forest management strategies in the study area.

Interaction between climate and management on beta diversity components of vegetation in relation to soil properties in arid and semi-arid oak forests, Iran

“…Therefore, the higher SOC content in Dalab region is likely related to soil nutrient availability and thus plays an important role in soil fertility (Bationo et al, 2006). The decrease in nitrogen and organic carbon in unmanaged sites was consistent with the result that human disturbances and site degradation decreased the amount of organic matter and soil nutrients (Dahlgren et al, 2003;Heydari et al, 2014). Higher cover of woody and herbaceous species in managed sites protects soils from erosion (Mekuria and Aynekulu, 2013), while degradation agents such as livestock grazing in unmanaged Koshk region decrease plant biomass accumulation, which in turn affects soil fertility (Savadogo et al, 2007).…”

“…Overstory canopy cover is an important ecological characteristic of Zagros oak forests, which was significantly reduced in disturbed areas (Heydari et al, 2014). Previous studies indicated that canopy cover controls the biological, physical, and chemical soil properties as well as the herbaceous coverage, which in turn, influences the seedling recruitment and development (Caldeira et al, 2014;Moradi et al, 2017).…”

Phenanthrene Mitigates Cadmium Toxicity in Earthworms Eisenia fetida (Epigeic Specie) and Aporrectodea caliginosa (Endogeic Specie) in Soil

“…Although different organisms reacted differently to an exposure stress situation, earthworms appeared to be excellent candidates for eco-toxicology studies. With their ability to accumulate essential and non-essential heavy metals in their body tissues and their direct or indirect role to modulate the transfer of organic and inorganic pollutants by virtue of their habitation [ 27 ], earthworms are considered as bio-indicators of contaminated soil and key diagnostic indices in eco-toxicology [ 28 ]. They ameliorate soil structure by increasing soil aeration [ 29 , 30 ] and enhance the conveyance of soil microorganisms.…”

Carbon sequestration via afforestation as a sustainable action to mitigate climate change in Western Iran

“…() stated that the soil carbon sequestration increases when deciduous species or nitrogen fixative species are planted. Also, given that deciduous trees increase the activity of earthworms and other invertebrates (Jongmans et al ., ; Heydari et al ., ) and increases organic matter and thus carbon and nitrogen of soil.…”