Relationships between earthworm communities and burrow numbers under different land use systems

Abstract

Abstract This study addresses the influence of three different land use systems (continuous maize, pasture/maize rotation, permanent pasture) on the relationships between earthworm populations and the number of earthworm burrows quantified in a soil profile. Quantified burrows were limited to those observable by the naked eye (i.e. >2 mm in diameter) and enumerated earthworms were limited to those which could have created the observable burrows (i.e. >0.3 g). The results were combined with data from the literature coming from different geographical regions. This study showed that earthworm abundance decreased with the increasing land management intensity (maize crop vs. pasture), while the number of burrows could be higher or similar under maize compared to pasture. Under maize, despite lower earthworm abundance and the annual destruction of the burrows by tillage, the number of burrows was almost as high as under pasture. This absence of a relationship between burrow numbers and earthworm abundance was observed in the soil profile and for each layer of the profile for each land use system. Furthermore, the burrow number/m−2 per earthworm strongly varied depending on land use and was far higher under maize when compared to pasture (74 vs. 7). Therefore, a power-law type relationship was clearly established between burrow number/m−2 per earthworm and earthworm abundance. This power type relationship was also observed when including data from the literature although it followed a different mathematical model. These results were explained by (i) increased earthworm burrowing activity (i.e. an increase in the number of burrows produced by each earthworm) under maize, and (ii) the dynamics of burrow number under pasture (i.e. decreased burrowing activity and burrow destruction process); both results of food accessibility combined with inter-individual competition. The results of the study suggest that farmers should not use the number of pores as an indicator of earthworm abundance, but as an indicator of earthworm activity, which could be integrated in an indicator of soil quality.