Worms and wetland water

The role of lumbricids and enchytraeids in nutrient release from flooded grassland ecosystems

By (author) Nathalie Plum

Book cover: Worms and wetland water

Extent: 209, 209 pages

Publisher: Logos Verlag Berlin

Subjects: Earth & Life Sciences 

Language: English

(Paperback) (Published)

(January 2006)

ISBN: 9783832511050

5.71 x 8.27 inches

Price: $61.00

Out of stock

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.

  • By (author) Nathalie Plum