Impact of flood deposits on earthworm communities in alder forests from a subalpine floodplain (Kandersteg, Switzerland)

Bullinger-Weber, Géraldine; Guénat, Claire; Salomé, Clémence; Gobat, Jean‐Michel; Bayon, Renée‐Claire Le

doi:10.1016/j.ejsobi.2011.08.001

Cited by 15 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Soil organisms include many potential indicators of river restoration success but this potential has not yet been studied much (Bullinger-Weber et al, 2007;Fournier et al, 2012;Guenat et al, 1999). Among the candidates, earthworms are recognised as good bioindicators of soil conditions in alluvial ecosystems (Bullinger-Weber et al, 2012;Salomé et al, 2011) and could therefore provide useful information for monitoring of restoration projects.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, flooding reduced the total biomass of Lumbricus terrestris and L. rubellus whereas it had no or little effect on that of Allolobophora chlorotica and Aporrectodea calig-inosa (Zorn et al, 2005(Zorn et al, , 2008. In subalpine floodplains, epigeic species are considered as bioindicators of recent flood events because of their relation to topsoil texture and organic matter qual-ity (Bullinger-Weber et al, 2012). River restoration was shown to affect negatively L. rubellus biomass through a reduction of suit-able habitats and an enhanced exposure to contaminants (Thonon and Klok, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Patterns of earthworm communities and species traits in relation to the perturbation gradient of a restored floodplain

Fournier

Samaritani

Shrestha

et al. 2012

Applied Soil Ecology

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a b s t r a c tLittle is known about the diversity and ecology of earthworms in floodplains, as well as their response to natural and anthropic perturbations (e.g. floods, river channelisation, floodplain restoration). We characterised the patterns of earthworm communities and species traits in the different habitats of a lowland restored floodplain in Switzerland. In addition to classical species-based metrics, such as species richness and Shannon diversity, species traits were used to calculate the community weighted means (CWMs) of traits and functional dispersion (FDis). We hypothesised that trait-based metrics would reveal clearer patterns than classical approaches. The distribution of earthworm traits varied among habitats in relation to changes in flooding frequency: poorly developed gravel bar soils most exposed to flooding were characterised by high abundance of small epigeic species and low abundance of large anecic species. Differences in anecic and endogeic earthworm community structure matched flood frequency. In agreement with our hypothesis, CWMs were more strongly correlated to environmental variables than species composition, diversity, or functional diversity. Based on these results, the ratio of the relative abundances of epigeic and anecic species, and the differences in species composition within anecic and endogeic ecological types of earthworms were identified as indicators of soil development in floodplains.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns of earthworm communities and species traits in relation to the perturbation gradient of a restored floodplain

Fournier

Samaritani

Shrestha

et al. 2012

Applied Soil Ecology

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“…Earthworms can also be used as bioindicators for soil pollution (Bullinger-Weber et al, 2012;Dureja et al, 1999;Suthar et al, 2008;Wang et al, 2009). In general, bioindicators are used to estimate the quality of the environment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of aluminum and moisture levels on aluminum bioaccumulation and protein content in the earthworm Octodrilus complanatus

Bilalis

Tzortzi

Vavoulidou

et al. 2013

J. Soil Sci. Plant Nutr.

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Laboratory experiments were conducted to determine the effects of soil aluminum levels and moisture content on aluminum (Al) bioaccumulation and protein content in the earthworm (Octodrilus complanatus). The experimental design was a completely randomized block with 2 factors (aluminum content [C-0: 0 mg kg -1 , C-1: 1000 mg kg -1 , C-2: 2000 mg kg -1 , C-3: 3000 mg kg -1 ] and moisture level [M1: 100% of soil water capacity, M2: 60% of soil water capacity] and 3 replications. The lowest pH was noted in the C-0 treatment. There were no significant differences in the electrical conductivity, cation exchange capacity or total nitrogen in soil between the aluminum treatments. Moreover, there were no significant differences in soil properties between the moisture treatments. The highest soil Al content was noted in the C-3 treatment. No earthworm mortality was observed in soil contaminated with Al. Moreover, the highest aluminum content in earthworms was observed in the C-3 treatment. The aluminum content in the earthworms was significantly positively correlated with the aluminum content in the soil (r=0.984***, p<0.001). Our results indicated that the growth of earthworms was affected by the Al level. Lastly, Al caused a reduction in earthworm protein content.

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“…Singh et al [3] reported that the abundance of earthworms was reduced in floodplain areas and that periodical flooding had speciesspecific effects on earthworm populations. Another study conducted by Bullinger-Weber et al [59] also indicated that the absence of anecic earthworms would suggest that more erosion and sedimentation processes have taken place, and an increase in epigeic earthworms may have positive effects on the texture of the topsoil and the organic matter quality. Many earthworms can survive long periods submerged in water [3], and some earthworm species can survive in flooded soils [60].…”

Section: Change In the Soil Moisture Contentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Short flooding periods followed by long recovery periods can be beneficial to certain earthworm species, e.g., Lumbricus rubellus and Allolobophora chlorotica. Schütz et al [62] and Bullinger-Weber et al [59] suggested that they could favour epigeic earthworm species. A study conducted by Plum and Filser [54] indicated that controlled flooding should be kept short in winters and natural summer flooding should follow and that a recovery period of six months should be sufficient for the reestablishment of earthworm populations.…”

Section: Change In the Soil Moisture Contentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential Impacts of Climate Change on the Toxicity of Pesticides towards Earthworms

Kaka

Opute

Maboeta

2021

Journal of Toxicology

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This review examined one of the effects of climate change that has only recently received attention, i.e., climate change impacts on the distribution and toxicity of chemical contaminants in the environment. As ecosystem engineers, earthworms are potentially threatened by the increasing use of pesticides. Increases in temperature, precipitation regime changes, and related extreme climate events can potentially affect pesticide toxicity. This review of original research articles, reviews, and governmental and intergovernmental reports focused on the interactions between toxicants and environmental parameters. The latter included temperature, moisture, acidification, hypoxia, soil carbon cycle, and soil dynamics, as altered by climate change. Dynamic interactions between climate change and contaminants can be particularly problematic for organisms since organisms have an upper and lower physiological range, resulting in impacts on their acclimatization capacity. Climate change variables such as temperature and soil moisture also have an impact on acidification. An increase in temperature will impact precipitation which might impact soil pH. Also, an increase in precipitation can result in flooding which can reduce the population of earthworms by not giving juvenile earthworms enough time to develop into reproductive adults. As an independent stressor, hypoxia can affect soil organisms, alter bioavailability, and increase the toxicity of chemicals in some cases. Climate change variables, especially temperature and soil moisture, significantly affect the bioavailability of pesticides in the soil and the growth and reproduction of earthworm species.

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Impact of flood deposits on earthworm communities in alder forests from a subalpine floodplain (Kandersteg, Switzerland)

Cited by 15 publications

References 30 publications

Patterns of earthworm communities and species traits in relation to the perturbation gradient of a restored floodplain

Patterns of earthworm communities and species traits in relation to the perturbation gradient of a restored floodplain

Effects of aluminum and moisture levels on aluminum bioaccumulation and protein content in the earthworm Octodrilus complanatus

Potential Impacts of Climate Change on the Toxicity of Pesticides towards Earthworms

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