Greenhouse-gas emissions from soils increased by earthworms

Lubbers, Ingrid M.; Groenigen, Kees Jan van; Fonte, Steven J.; Six, Johan; Brussaard, L.; Groenigen, Jan Willem van

doi:10.1038/nclimate1692

Cited by 360 publications

(271 citation statements)

References 55 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

249

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…CO2 loss accounted for over 65% of C loss (Table 3.3), therefore higher C loss after vermicomposting was explained by (i) earthworms decomposing C (Lubbers et al, 2013) (ii) earthworms mixing the substrate, thereby increasing the accessibility of the materials for decomposers, and (iii) earthworm casts increasing decomposition (Sierra et al, 2013). The unaccounted C was between 9-14%, which is comparable with several studies (Chowdhury et al, 2014;Vu et al, 2015).…”

Section: Nitrogen and Carbon Balancesupporting

confidence: 66%

“…The effects of earthworms on soil properties and GHG emissions (mainly N2O emissions) from soils are well documented (Lubbers et al, 2013), but earthworm effects on N losses and GHG emissions from composting are generally ignored and therefore need further investigation. In their report, Lubbers et al (2013) showed that earthworms increased N2O emissions from soil. The substrate quality, earthworm species and earthworm density used for vermicomposting, however, differ from those in soil.…”

Section: Vermicomposting As a Low-cost Strategy For Reducing N Lossesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For instance, mineral nitrogen and available C contents influence the denitrification processes in the earthworm gut of anecic earthworms (Lubbers et al, 2013). Earthworm density might influence aeration and subsequently influence GHG emissions.…”

Section: Vermicomposting As a Low-cost Strategy For Reducing N Lossesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies have shown earthworm-induced N2O emissions from soils (Lubbers et al, 2013) because denitrifying bacteria in the earthworm gut contribute to measurable N2O…”

Section: Implications For Small-scale Farmersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, previous studies have not considered variables such as mineral N concentration, C quality, moisture content and earthworm density, which could influence N loss and GHG emissions from vermicomposting. The mineral nitrogen and available C contents influence the denitrification processes in the earthworm gut (Lubbers et al, 2013). It is therefore essential to understand the effect of earthworms on N2O emissions from materials with different substrate quality (i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Closing the nutrient loops in (peri-)urban farming systems through composting

Nigussie

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Nitrogen and Carbon Balancesupporting

confidence: 66%

Section: Vermicomposting As a Low-cost Strategy For Reducing N Lossesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Vermicomposting As a Low-cost Strategy For Reducing N Lossesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies have shown earthworm-induced N2O emissions from soils (Lubbers et al, 2013) because denitrifying bacteria in the earthworm gut contribute to measurable N2O…”

Section: Implications For Small-scale Farmersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Closing the nutrient loops in (peri-)urban farming systems through composting

Nigussie

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Climate Change in the Underworld: Impacts for Soil‐Dwelling Invertebrates

Hiltpold

Johnson

Bayon

et al. 2016

Global Climate Change and Terrestrial Invertebrates

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Plant‐facilitated effects of exotic earthworm Pontoscolex corethrurus on the soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics and soil microbial community in a subtropical field ecosystem

Zhang

Shao

et al. 2017

Ecology and Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Earthworms and plants greatly affect belowground properties; however, their combined effects are more attractive based on the ecosystem scale in the field condition. To address this point, we manipulated earthworms (exotic endogeic species Pontoscolex corethrurus) and plants (living plants [native tree species Evodia lepta] and artificial plants) to investigate their combined effects on soil microorganisms, soil nutrients, and soil respiration in a subtropical forest. The manipulation of artificial plants aimed to simulate the physical effects of plants (e.g., shading and interception of water) such that the biological effects of plants could be evaluated separately. We found that relative to the controls, living plants but not artificial plants significantly increased the ratio of fungal to bacterial phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) and fungal PLFAs. Furthermore, earthworms plus living plants significantly increased the soil respiration and decreased the soil NH 4 +‐N, which indicates that the earthworm effects on the associated carbon, and nitrogen processes were greatly affected by living plants. The permutational multivariate analysis of variance results also indicated that living plants but not earthworms or artificial plants significantly changed the soil microbial community. Our results suggest that the effects of plants on soil microbes and associated soil properties in this study were largely explained by their biological rather than their physical effects.

show abstract

Greenhouse-gas emissions from soils increased by earthworms

Cited by 360 publications

References 55 publications

Closing the nutrient loops in (peri-)urban farming systems through composting

Closing the nutrient loops in (peri-)urban farming systems through composting

Climate Change in the Underworld: Impacts for Soil‐Dwelling Invertebrates

Plant‐facilitated effects of exotic earthworm Pontoscolex corethrurus on the soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics and soil microbial community in a subtropical field ecosystem

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About