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Non-native earthworms in riparian soils increase nitrogen flux into adjacent aquatic ecosystems

  • Ecosystem Ecology - Original Paper
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Abstract

Riparian zones are an important transition between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and they function in nutrient cycling and removal. Non-native earthworms invading earthworm-free areas of North America can affect nutrient cycling in upland soils and have the potential to affect it in riparian soils. We examined how the presence of earthworms can affect riparian nutrient cycling and nutrient delivery to streams. Two mesocosm experiments were conducted to determine how (1) the biomass of earthworms and (2) earthworm species can affect nutrient flux from riparian zones to nearby streams and how this flux can affect streamwater nutrients and periphyton growth. In separate experiments, riparian soil cores were amended with one of four mixed earthworm biomasses (0, 4, 10, or 23 g m−2 ash-free dry mass) or with one of three earthworm species (Aporrectodea caliginosa, Lumbricus terrestris, L. rubellus) or no earthworm species. Riparian soil cores were coupled to artificial streams, and over a 36-day period, we measured nutrient leaching rates, in-stream nutrient concentrations, and periphyton growth. Ammonium leaching increased with increasing biomass and was greatest from the A. caliginosa treatments. Nitrate leaching increased through time and increased at a greater rate with higher biomass and from cores containing A. caliginosa. We suggest that the overall response of increased nitrate leaching [90% of total nitrogen (N)] was due to a combination of ammonium excretion and burrowing by earthworms, which increased nitrification rates. During both experiments, periphyton biomass increased through time but did not differ across treatments despite high in-stream inorganic N. Through time, in-stream phosphorus (P) concentration declined to <5 μg l−1, and periphyton growth was likely P-limited. We conclude that activities of non-native earthworms (particularly A. caliginosa) can alter biogeochemical cycling in riparian zones, potentially reducing the N-buffering capacity of riparian zones and altering stoichiometric relationships in adjacent aquatic ecosystems.

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Acknowledgments

We thank LE Kinsman, JM Dreyer, J Frentress, M Stephen, JH Larson, KJ Kulacki, MJ Michel, and MA Brueseke for assistance with the experiments and sample processing. D Birdsell, J Loftus, and L Fuchs provided valuable support at the University of Notre Dame Center for Environmental Science and Technology. LE Kinsman, SD Tiegs, SD Bridgham, and two anonymous reviewers provided helpful comments on this manuscript. Funding was provided by the National Science Foundation via the Integrated Systems for Invasive Species (ISIS) project (www.math.ualberta.ca/~mathbio/ISIS). Additional funding to DMC was provided by an UNDERC Fellowship, a Sigma ** Grant-In-Aid of Research Award, a Bayer Predoctoral Fellowship, and a North American Benthological Society President’s Award. Experiments performed for this study comply with U.S. laws.

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  1. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, 107 Galvin Life Sciences, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA

    David M. Costello & Gary A. Lamberti

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  1. David M. Costello
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  2. Gary A. Lamberti
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Correspondence to David M. Costello.

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Communicated by Stefan Scheu.

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Costello, D.M., Lamberti, G.A. Non-native earthworms in riparian soils increase nitrogen flux into adjacent aquatic ecosystems. Oecologia 158, 499–510 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-008-1149-0

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