Species richness and community structure of earthworms (Oligochaeta: Lumbricidae) in natural and agricultural ecosystems

Abstract

The aim of this study is to provide a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the earthworm community in habitats that are differentiated by the gradient of agricultural land use intensity, as well as differentiated natural ecosystems. The material was collected from the central part of Serbia. In addition to population density, as one of the basic structural characteristics, we used relative numerous relationships of individual populations to analyze the structure of the earthworm community. A total of 16 earthworm species were identified. The highest species richness was registered in primary ecosystems, with the highest number of registered species amounting to 12. The highest number of species belonged to the genera Allolobophora and Aporrectodea. However, Aporrectodea rosea (Savigny, 1826) was identified as an edificatory. These are the species that have the highest tolerance threshold on adverse climatic and ecological conditions, and have exceptional survival ability. The lumbricid fauna of mesophilic meadows, with several cosmopolitan species, was fairly uniform. In conventional fields, as well as in organic ones, earthworm populations were poor, and non-associative. Our analysis of the earthworm community in different ecosystems provides an insight into the current state of the examined ecosystems and represents a good basis for applied research in soil ecology.