Spatial variation of an earthworm community related to soil properties and yield in a grass–clover field

Nuutinen, Visa; Pitkänen, Jyrki; Kuusela, Eeva; Widbom, Timo; Lohilahti, Hanne

doi:10.1016/s0929-1393(97)00063-2

Cited by 72 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…The spatial distribution of different taxa of soil biota has especially been addressed during the last decade (Adams 1998, Bigwood and Inouye 1988, Boag et al 1994, Crist and Wiens 1996, Crist 1998, Fromm et al 1993, Nuutinen 1998, Poier and Richter 1992, Robertson 1994, Robertson and Freckman 1995, Rossi 2003a, b, c, Rossi et al 1995, Stein et al 1992, Wallace and Hawkins 1994.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stability of the spatio-temporal distribution and niche overlap in neotropical earthworm assemblages

Jiménez¹,

Decaëns

Rossi

2006

Acta Oecologica

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The spatial distribution of soil invertebrates is clumped with high-density patches alternating with low-density zones. Communities of these organisms are constituted by populations of different species assemblages. A high degree of spatio-temporal organization, with identified patches characterized by specific species assemblages, in which species coexist or co-occur according to assembly rules and/or competitive mechanisms for spatial and trophic resources occur. However, these studies have seldom been addressed. The spatio-temporal structure of a native earthworm community in a natural savanna and a grass-legume pasture in the Colombian "Llanos" was studied over a period of two years. A spatially explicit sampling design (regular grid) was used to unveil the distribution pattern of species assemblages in both systems by collecting earthworms from small soil cores (40x40x15 cm 3 ) at three different sampling dates.Data collected from one metre square soil monoliths were also used in the analysis. dynamics.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stability of the spatio-temporal distribution and niche overlap in neotropical earthworm assemblages

Jiménez¹,

Decaëns

Rossi

2006

Acta Oecologica

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“…The assessment of the spatial distribution of soil organisms has become an important subject of study during the last years [1,8,12,19,[21][22][23]25]. The spatial pattern of soil biota is controlled by biotic conditions and habitat distribution [2,16] but some species like ecosystem engineers [10] may in turn dramatically affect the physical structure of their habitat.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial dissociation between two endogeic earthworms in the Colombian “Llanos”

Jiménez

Rossi

2006

European Journal of Soil Biology

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“…The density per area, depth and tortuosity of the burrow system depends strongly on the abundant earthworms species, and this in turn depends on spatio-temporal patterns of organic matter content (Rossi et al 1997), soil hydrological properties and soil water content (Cannavacciuolo et al 1998;Nuutinen et al 1998Nuutinen et al , 2001, biotic interactions (Nuutinen 1997;Rossi 2004) and disturbance regimes related to agricultural practice ( Joschko et al 2006;Whalen & Fox 2007). In the present study we focus on structures formed by deep-digging anecic earthworms (L. terrestris, A. longa).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The principle of ‘maximum energy dissipation’: a novel thermodynamic perspective on rapid water flow in connected soil structures

Zehe

Blume

Blöschl

2010

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

101

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Preferential flow in biological soil structures is of key importance for infiltration and soil water flow at a range of scales. In the present study, we treat soil water flow as a dissipative process in an open non-equilibrium thermodynamic system, to better understand this key process. We define the chemical potential and Helmholtz free energy based on soil physical quantities, parametrize a physically based hydrological model based on field data and simulate the evolution of Helmholtz free energy in a cohesive soil with different populations of worm burrows for a range of rainfall scenarios. The simulations suggest that flow in connected worm burrows allows a more efficient redistribution of water within the soil, which implies a more efficient dissipation of free energy/higher production of entropy. There is additional evidence that the spatial pattern of worm burrow density at the hillslope scale is a major control of energy dissipation. The pattern typically found in the study is more efficient in dissipating energy/producing entropy than other patterns. This is because upslope run-off accumulates and infiltrates via the worm burrows into the dry soil in the lower part of the hillslope, which results in an overall more efficient dissipation of free energy.

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Spatial variation of an earthworm community related to soil properties and yield in a grass–clover field

Cited by 72 publications

References 14 publications

Stability of the spatio-temporal distribution and niche overlap in neotropical earthworm assemblages

Stability of the spatio-temporal distribution and niche overlap in neotropical earthworm assemblages

Spatial dissociation between two endogeic earthworms in the Colombian “Llanos”

The principle of ‘maximum energy dissipation’: a novel thermodynamic perspective on rapid water flow in connected soil structures

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