Worms and wetland water: The role of lumbricids and enchytraeids in nutrient release from flooded grassland ecosystems
Nathalie Plum
ISBN 978-3-8325-1105-0
209 pages, year of publication: 2006
price: 40.50 €
The present thesis approaches the question about the role of soil fauna,
in particular annelid worms (Oligochaeta: Lumbricidae, Enchytraeidae),
on nutrient mobilisation during an inundation. Four laboratory
experiments shed light on the annelids? impact on nutrient dynamics in
floodwater. Terrestrial-aquatic microcosms were composed of undisturbed
soil cores and river water from the field. These microcosms were
inoculated with natural densities of earthworms and/or enchytraeids. A
two-year field survey in three floodplain meadows in Northern Germany
shows the strong dynamics of annelid populations with alternating
hydrological extremes (floods and drought). A literature review compares
survival strategies of soil invertebrates in flooded grassland.