Transport by earthworms contributes to the secondary dispersal of seeds and influences patterns of plant community structure and function. To date, however, research on earthworm seed dispersal has focused primarily on vertical transport and the collection of seeds into middens at the soil surface, with no efforts to map horizontal distribution after burial. This study used an emergence depth assay and depth-stratified seedling emergence from soil microcosm cross-sections to map earthworm seed transport in three dimensions using commercial grass seed and the anecic earthworm Lumbricus terrestris L. While specific seed burial profiles should not be considered representative of burial under field conditions (due primarily to high earthworm densities under artificially limiting microcosm conditions), we created what we believe to be the first three-dimensional and most detailed map of earthworm seed burial, visualizing and quantifying the ability of L. terrestris to redistribute seed both vertically and horizontally throughout the soil profile. L. terrestris buried 6.5 to 17.4% of the total seeds and reduced aboveground grass biomass by 59–65 %. Vertically, L. terrestris buried seeds evenly across the 13 cm deep microcosms. Horizontally, L. terrestris aggregated seeds into small clusters aligned obliquely across soil depths, which suggest seeds being deposited in burrow walls (variance to mean ratio: 3.39 ± 2.49). Seeds were aggregated regardless of L. terrestris density but covered a greater cross-sectional area of the soil profile when more earthworms were present. Spatial patterning of shallow buried seed still capable of emergence is a newly described mechanism by which L. terrestris might influence the spatial structure of plant communities.

蚯蚓的运输有助于种子的二次传播并影响植物群落结构和功能的模式。然而，迄今为止，蚯蚓种子传播的研究主要集中在垂直运输和将种子收集到土壤表面的中间，并没有努力绘制埋藏后的水平分布图。本研究使用出苗深度测定法和土壤微观横截面的深度分层幼苗出苗，以使用商业草种子和无毛蚯蚓Lumbricus terrestris在三个维度绘制蚯蚓种子运输图。L. 虽然特定的种子埋藏剖面不应被视为田间条件下埋藏的代表（主要是由于在人为限制的微观条件下蚯蚓密度高），但我们创建了我们认为是第一个 3D 和最详细的蚯蚓种子图埋葬、可视化和量化L. terrestris在整个土壤剖面中垂直和水平重新分配种子的能力。L. terrestris掩埋了总种子的 6.5% 至 17.4%，并使地上草生物量减少了 59% 至 65%。垂直地，L. terrestris 将种子均匀地埋在 13 厘米深的微观世界中。横向，L. terrestris将种子聚集成小簇，在土壤深度上倾斜排列，这表明种子沉积在洞穴壁中（方差与平均比：3.39 ± 2.49）。无论L. terrestris密度如何，种子都会聚集，但当更多蚯蚓存在时，种子会覆盖更大的土壤剖面横截面积。仍然能够出苗的浅埋种子的空间模式是一种新描述的机制，L. terrestris可能通过该机制影响植物群落的空间结构。