[Terrapreta] Exotic' species alter soil fertility

[MFH]

(A recent USA study bemoaned the fact that the introduced earthworm was
changing USA soil irrecoverably.)

 

"Lots of sources say that there aren't any native worms in North America,
but it's not true: in the south and the west there were plenty of worms to
start with, but there weren't any native earthworms in the northeast after
the last glacier receded.  And the non-native worms have changed the
northeastern forests. 

According to 2003 research
<http://www.zimbio.com/pilot?ZURL=%2FComposting%2Farticles%2F119%2FA%2BWorm%
2BFarm&URL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciencedaily.com%2Freleases%2F2003%2F06%2F030625
090207.htm> , when earthworms move into a new area, they feed on the organic
material on the forest floor and bring it down into their burrows. They feed
primarily on the top layer of leaf litter, as well as on the duff - the
spongy layer of decomposing vegetation beneath the leaf litter. .Earthworms
do an excellent job of recycling nutrients, but "when they eat away the duff
layer, all the plant seeds that germinate there, like trillium and
mayflowers and wood anemone, may disappear or may not have any place to
germinate. Other creatures that live in the duff and forest litter like
salamanders and ground-nesting birds may be affected as well. Within a
decade or two, the worms can essentially change the soil profile into
something like the black mineral-rich soils that are found in many European
forests.

M

 

  _____  

From: terrapreta-bounces at bioenergylists.org
[mailto:terrapreta-bounces at bioenergylists.org] On Behalf Of Michael Bailes
Sent: Sunday, 1 June 2008 9:10 PM
To: Terra Preta
Subject: Re: [Terrapreta] Exotic' species alter soil fertility

 

"Forgive them father for they know not what they do"
It seems to my atheist predilections, that we don't have a clue about what
is happening under our feet.
 Nor do we even have good scientific techniques for surveying or assessing
this.
It may turn out that the whole TP phenomenon might be attributable to a
unique Amazonian "wee beastie".(S)
A recent USA study bemoaned the fact that the introduced earthworm was
changing USA soil irrecoverably. From memory the USA had /has only two
varieties of earthworm. (?)
m

The European introduction is changing the soil forever
A bit like when we spary soil with propriety microrganism mixtures. Are we
doing good? Are we doing damage
How many thousands of 'wee beasties are becoming extint beacause of our
activities?
Who knows?
m

2008/5/29 Ruy Korscha Anaya de la Rosa <korscha at gmail.com>:

Apparently our knowledge about soils is still limited and since the pros and
cons of a project depend on its specific situation, we have to study it on a
case-by-case basis. 

Obviously the former applies to Terra Preta. 

'snip'
Ruy


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-- 
Michael the Archangel
"Politicians will never solve The Problem;
because they don't realise they are The Problem.".
-Robert ( Bob ) Parsons 1995

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