skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Endogeic earthworm densities increase in response to higher fine-root production in a forest exposed to elevated CO2

Journal Article · · Soil Biology and Biochemistry
 [1]; ORCiD logo [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [6]
  1. Univ. of Illinois, Chicago, IL (United States). Dept. of Biological Sciences; Univ. of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez, PR (United States). Dept. of Agro-environmental Sciences
  2. Univ. of Illinois, Chicago, IL (United States). Dept. of Biological Sciences; Univ. of Illinois, Chicago, IL (United States). Inst. for Environmental Science and Policy
  3. Univ. of Puerto Rico, Utuado, PR (United States)
  4. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Environmental Sciences Division and Climate Change Science Inst.
  5. Univ. of Iowa, Iowa City, IA (United States). Dept. of Biology
  6. Univ. of Illinois, Chicago, IL (United States). Dept. of Biological Sciences
+ Show Author Affiliations

Net primary productivity (NPP) influences soil food webs and ultimately the amount of carbon (C) inputs in ecosystems. Earthworms can physically protect organic matter from rapid mineralization through the formation of soil aggregates. Previous studies at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Free Air CO2 Enrichment (FACE) experiment showed that elevated [CO2] (e[CO2]) increased fine-root production and increased soil C through soil aggregation compared to ambient [CO2] (a[CO2]) conditions. Our first objective was to study the response of earthworms to increased leaf and root-litter inputs caused by increased atmospheric [CO2] exposure. Here, we also took advantage of the CO2 shutdown at the ORNL FACE site to track the shift of the δ13C signal in leaf-litter, fine roots, earthworms, earthworm casts, and bulk soil. Densities of the most abundant endogeic earthworm, Diplocardia spp., were positively correlated with the previous-year production of leaf litter (r=0.66, P=0.02) and fine roots (r=0.62, P=0.03); and with the leaf-litter production (r=0.63, P=0.03) and fine-root production (r=0.59, P=0.05) two years before earthworms were sampled. Within two years after the CO2 fumigation ceased, the 13C/12C ratio increased in leaf litter (P=0.01) and in fine roots (P=0.05), showing an ecosystem legacy effect on soil C inputs. However, the C isotopic composition of soil, endogeic earthworms and casts had not changed the two years after the CO2 fumigation ended. The positive response of earthworms to increased root NPP, caused by elevated [CO2], is consistent with the increased soil aggregate formation and increased soil C at the ORNL FACE in the e[CO2] treatment.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER); National Science Foundation (NSF)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725; DEB-0919276; AC05–00OR22725
OSTI ID:
1435254
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1575931
Journal Information:
Soil Biology and Biochemistry, Vol. 122, Issue C; ISSN 0038-0717
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 7 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (30)

Protection of soil carbon by microaggregates within earthworm casts journal February 2005
Soil fauna and soil function in the fabric of the food web journal January 2007
From peds to paradoxes: Linkages between soil biota and their influences on ecological processes journal February 2008
New guidelines for reporting stable hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen isotope-ratio data journal September 1996
Earthworm invasion into previously earthworm-free temperate and boreal forests journal July 2006
Influence of different food substrates on growth and reproduction of two tropical earthworm species (Pontoscolex corethrurus and Amynthas corticis) journal January 2003
Plant Respiration and Elevated Atmospheric CO2 Concentration: Cellular Responses and Global Significance journal September 2004
Mechanistic insights on the responses of plant and ecosystem gas exchange to global environmental change: Lessons from Biosphere 2 journal September 2014
Soil and Sediment Biodiversity journal February 1999
A free-air enrichment system for exposing tall forest vegetation to elevated atmospheric CO2 journal March 1999
Ecosystem-level controls on root-rhizosphere respiration journal April 2013
Soil carbon and nitrogen cycling and storage throughout the soil profile in a sweetgum plantation after 11 years of CO2-enrichment journal March 2012
CO 2 enrichment increases carbon and nitrogen input from fine roots in a deciduous forest journal August 2008
Elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide increases soil carbon journal December 2005
Dynamics of soil CO 2 efflux under varying atmospheric CO 2 concentrations reveal dominance of slow processes journal May 2017
Functional domains in soils: Functional domains in soils journal June 2002
Soil invertebrates and ecosystem services journal November 2006
Stored carbon partly fuels fine-root respiration but is not used for production of new fine roots journal May 2013
Impacts of Fine Root Turnover on Forest NPP and Soil C Sequestration Potential journal November 2003
Fine-root production dominates response of a deciduous forest to atmospheric CO2 enrichment journal June 2004
CO2 enhancement of forest productivity constrained by limited nitrogen availability journal October 2010
Ecological Lessons from Free-Air CO 2 Enrichment (FACE) Experiments journal December 2011
Allometric determination of tree growth in a CO2-enriched sweetgum stand journal May 2001
Tracing Changes in Ecosystem Function under Elevated Carbon Dioxide Conditions journal January 2003
Aggregate formation and carbon sequestration by earthworms in soil from a temperate forest exposed to elevated atmospheric CO2: A microcosm experiment journal January 2014
Intrapopulation variation in carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios in the earthworm Aporrectodea longa: Isotope ratios in earthworms journal December 1999
Deciduous woodland exposed to elevated atmospheric CO2 has species-specific impacts on anecic earthworms journal August 2014
Biological control of the terrestrial carbon sink journal January 2006
The turnover of carbon pools contributing to soil CO2 and soil respiration in a temperate forest exposed to elevated CO2 concentration journal June 2006
Allyl isothiocyanate: an alternative chemical expellant for sampling earthworms journal January 2003

Cited By (3)

Does elevated atmospheric CO 2 affect soil carbon burial and soil weathering in a forest ecosystem? journal January 2018
Exploration of an Extracellular Polymeric Substance from Earthworm Gut Bacterium (Bacillus licheniformis) for Bioflocculation and Heavy Metal Removal Potential journal January 2020
Estimating the Abundance of Andean Ibis ( Theristicus branickii ) in the High Andes of Northern Ecuador journal January 2020

Similar Records

Related Subjects

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
Endogeic
Earthworm
Diplocardia
Free-air CO2 enrichment