Titre du document / Document title

Burrowing activity of the geophagous earthworm Pontoscolex corethrurus (Oligochaeta: Glossoscolecidae) in the presence of charcoal

Auteur(s) / Author(s)

TOPOLIANTZ Stéphanie ⁽¹⁾ ; PONGE Jean-Francois ⁽¹⁾ ;

Affiliation(s) du ou des auteurs / Author(s) Affiliation(s)

⁽¹⁾ Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS-UMR 8571, 4 Avenue du Petit-Château, 91800 Brunoy, FRANCE

Résumé / Abstract

The geophagous earthworm Pontoscolex corethrurus is frequently found in burnt tropical soils where charcoal plays an important role in soil fertility. We studied the burrowing activity of this species in two-dimensional (2D) microcosms with one half-filled with soil and the other with a 3:2 (w/w) mixture of charcoal and soil (CHAR + soil). We measured the volume of empty burrows and those filled with black or brown casts in both substrates, as well as the initial and final fresh weights of the worms. The correlation between brown cast production and both initial and final fresh weights of the worms, reinforced by the presence of feeding cavities in soil but not in CHAR + soil, suggests that P corethrurus would ingest soil to obtain its nutrient requirements, in contrast to charcoal which was ingested for other purposes. We observed that at equal burrow volume created in the two substrates, P corethrurus produced smaller black casts than brown, suggesting that burrows were created in CHAR + soil mainly by pushing aside the particles of this lighter substrate. The observed transport of charcoal to soil points to the importance of P. corethrurus in the incorporation of charcoal particles into organic-poor soil.

Revue / Journal Title

Agriculture,ecosystems & environment. Applied soil ecology   ISSN 0929-1393 

Source / Source

2003, vol. 23, n^o3, pp. 267-271 [5 page(s) (article)] (23 ref.)

Langue / Language

Anglais

Editeur / Publisher

Elsevier, Amsterdam, PAYS-BAS  (1994) (Revue)

Mots-clés anglais / English Keywords

Invertebrata ; Annelida ; Oligochaeta ; Earthworm ; Tropical soil ; Charcoal ; Geophagia ; Soil fauna ; Burrowing behavior ;

Mots-clés français / French Keywords

Invertebrata ; Annelida ; Oligochaeta ; Ver de terre ; Pontoscolex corethrurus ; Sol tropical ; Charbon bois ; Géophagie ; Faune édaphique ; Comportement fouisseur ;

Mots-clés espagnols / Spanish Keywords

Invertebrata ; Annelida ; Oligochaeta ; Lombriz de tierra ; Suelo tropical ; Carbón madera ; Geofagía ; Fauna edáfica ; Conducta cavadora ;

Mots-clés d'auteur / Author Keywords

Burrows: Casts: Charcoal ; Pontoscolex corethrurus ;

Localisation / Location

INIST-CNRS, Cote INIST : 26979, 35400011968915.0080