Metal redistribution by surface casting of four earthworm species in sandy and loamy clay soils

Abstract

Bioturbation of metal contaminated soils contributes considerably to redistribution and surfacing of contaminated soil from deeper layers. To experimentally measure the contribution of Allolobophora chlorotica, Aporrectodea caliginosa, Lumbricus rubellus and L. terrestris to soil surface casting, a time-course experiment was performed under laboratory conditions. Earthworms were incubated in perspex columns filled with sandy soil (2% organic matter, 2.9% clay) or loamy clay soil (15% organic matter, 20% clay), and surface casts were collected after up to 80 days. On the sandy soil, A. caliginosa and L. rubellus brought approximately 7.1–16 g dry wt. casts/g fresh wt. earthworm to the surface, which is significantly more than A. chlorotica and L. terrestris (2.5–5.0 g dry wt./g fresh wt.). A. caliginosa was the only species that produced significantly more surface casts in the sandy soil than in the loamy clay soil. In the loamy clay soil, no differences in biomass-corrected casting rates were found among the species. Surface casting rates tended to decrease after 20 days. Considering the densities of the different species in a Dutch floodplain area Afferdensche and Deestsche Waarden, surface cast production is estimated to amount to 2.0 kg dry soil/m2 after 80 days, which could be extrapolated to 2.7–9.1 kg/m2 per year. These amounts correspond to a surface deposition of a layer of approximately 1.9–6.5 mm/year, which is of the same order or even slightly higher than the sedimentation rate and much higher than the amount of soil brought to the soil surface by bioturbating small mammals.