Survival of Aporrectodea caliginosa and its effects on nutrient availability in biosolids amended soil

Abstract

Few earthworms are present in production agricultural fields in the semi-arid plains of Colorado, where earthworm populations may be constrained by limited water and/or organic matter resources. We conducted a 12-week laboratory incubation study to determine the potential of a non-native endogeic earthworm (Aporrectodea caliginosa) to survive in a low-organic matter Colorado soil (1.4% organic C content), supplemented with or without biosolids, and to determine the effects of A. caliginosa on soil microbial biomass and soil nutrient availability. A factorial design with three main effects of A. caliginosa, biosolids addition, and time was used. Data was collected through destructively sampling at one, two, four, eight, and twelve weeks. During the 12-week study, 97.5% of the worms in the soil survived, and the survival of the earthworms was not significantly affected by the addition of biosolids. The addition of biosolids, however, did significantly reduce the gain in mass of the earthworms (8% mass gain compared to 18% in soil without biosolids). The presence of A. caliginosa significantly increased soil NH4-N, and NO3-N concentrations by 31% and 4%, respectively, which was less than the six fold increases in both soil NH4-N, and NO3-N concentrations supplied from biosolids. Microbial biomass carbon was not affected by A. caliginosa, but microbial biomass N was affected by an earthworm×biosolids interaction at week 1 and 12. We concluded that A. caliginosa can survive in a low-organic matter Colorado soil under optimal moisture content and that once established, A. caliginosa can provide modest increases in inorganic N availability to crops Colorado agroecosystems.