Earthworm assemblages in an ecotone between forest and arable field and their relations with soil properties

0333994 - BC 2010 RIV BR eng J - Journal Article
Zeithaml, J. - Pižl, Václav - Sklenička, P.
Earthworm assemblages in an ecotone between forest and arable field and their relations with soil properties.
Pesquisa Agropecuaria Brasileira. Roč. 44, č. 8 (2009), s. 922-927. ISSN 0100-204X. E-ISSN 1678-3921
Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z60660521
Keywords : edge effect * landscape mosaic * Lumbricidae
Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour
Impact factor: 0.681, year: 2009

The objective of this work was to assess the effects of a forest-field ecotone on earthworm assemblages. Five site (blocks) differing in the type of crop rotation used in the field were studied in Central Bohemia, Czech Republic. In each block, sampling was carried out in seven parallel rows perpendicular to a transect from a forest (oak or oak-pine) to the centre of a field, both in spring and autumn 2001-2003. Individual rows were located in the forest (5 m from the edge), in the forest edge, and in the field (at 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 m distances from the forest edge). The density and biomass of earthworms were lowest in the forest, increased markedly in the forest edge, decreased again at 5 or 10 m distance from the forest edge and then continuously increased along the distance to the field boundary. The highest number of species was found in the forest edge and in the field boundary. Individual species differed in their distribution along the transect.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0178842