Abstract
Asian jumping worms (Amynthas spp.) are recent invaders of Upper Midwest forests. Research has highlighted the impacts of Amynthas earthworms on soil biogeochemistry and structure, and field observations suggest that Amynthas spp. decrease litter horizon depth and alter plant communities. However, the extent to which Amynthas spp. effects vary among forest types and with worm density and the mechanisms driving these effects are unknown. We conducted a 3-month tree seedling study to evaluate the effects of Amynthas spp. on tree seedling growth and a mesocosm field experiment to evaluate Amynthas spp. effects on soil carbon and nutrient cycling, soil structure, and leaf litter decomposition rates across forest types. In the seedling study, Amynthas spp. enhanced the growth of sugar maple and European buckthorn seedlings and decreased the growth of white oak seedlings. These effects were due to Amynthas spp.-induced changes in soil properties. In the mesocosm study, as Amynthas spp. density increased, carbon mineralization and carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus availability increased in white oak forest soils and decreased in sugar maple forest soils, while decomposition rates of European buckthorn litter increased as Amynthas spp. density increased. Amynthas spp. altered soil structure similarly across all forest soil types. Taken together, our results suggest that Amynthas spp. have the potential to alter forest ecosystem dynamics via feedbacks among tree species, seedlings, and soil biogeochemistry. However, Amynthas spp. effects on tree seedlings and forest soils are largely context-dependent, and the direction and magnitude of these effects are mediated by tree species.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Michelle Catania, Brendan Brown, Jeremiah Donovan, and the Soil Ecology Laboratory volunteers for their assistance in preparing materials and processing soil and seedling samples; Tom Olsen and the Natural Areas volunteer crew for their assistance in extracting eighty forest soil cores during a very hot summer day; and the members of Community Access Naperville for their assistance with mulching and watering the soil cores. Susan Lewis and Linda Williams graciously provided us with European buckthorn and white pine leaf litter. We thank Bradley Herrick and Marie Johnston at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum for their assistance in procuring soil for the tree seedling experiment and in Amynthas species identification. Additionally, we thank Kurt Dreisilker for allowing the field experiment to be established on The Morton Arboretum grounds. We also thank Wes Beaulieu for his statistical consultations. Jennifer Fraterrigo, Piper Hodson and Renee Gracon provided critical feedback on our experimental design, analyses, and interpretations. This project was funded and supported by the Center for Tree Science at The Morton Arboretum.
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Bethke, P.G., Midgley, M.G. Amynthas spp. impacts on seedlings and forest soils are tree species-dependent. Biol Invasions 22, 3145–3162 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-020-02315-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-020-02315-4