Characteristics of Soil Moisture and Evaporation under the Activities of Earthworms in Typical Anthrosols in China

Li Ma, Ming’an Shao and Tongchuan Li
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Li Ma: Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Ming’an Shao: Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Tongchuan Li: State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling 712100, China

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 16, 1-11

Abstract: Earthworms have an important influence on the terrestrial ecological environment. This study assesses the effect of different earthworm densities on soil water content (SWC) and evaporation in a laboratory experiment. Four earthworm densities (0 no-earthworm, control [C]; 207 earthworms m −2 , low density [LDE]; 345 earthworms m −2 , medium density [MDE]; and 690 earthworms m −2 , high density [HDE]) are tested in soil columns. Results show that cumulative evaporation occurs in the decreasing order of densities: C (98.6 mm) > LDE (115.8 mm) > MDE (118.4 mm) > HDE (124.6 mm). Compared with the control, earthworm activity decreases cumulative soil evaporation by 5.0–20.9%, increases soil temperature to 0.46 °C–0.63 °C at 8:00, and decreases soil temperature to 0.21 °C–0.52 °C at 14:00 on the soil surface. Temperature fluctuations reduce with increasing earthworm densities. A negative correlation is found between cumulative soil evaporation and earthworm density ( R 2 = 0.969, p < 0.001). Earthworms significantly ( p < 0.05) decrease the surface SWC loss (0–20 cm) soil layer but increase the subsoil SWC loss (60–100 cm) by adjusting the soil temperature and reducing soil water evaporation. Earthworm activities (burrows, casts…) improve the soil water holding ability by adjusting soil temperature and reducing soil water evaporation. Thus, the population quantity of earthworms may provide valuable ecosystem services in soil water and heat cycles to save water resources and realize sustainable agricultural development.

Keywords: cumulative soil evaporation; soil water content; soil temperature; earthworm (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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