Aspen Bibliography

Density and Distribution of Dendrobaena Octaedra (Lumbricidae) in Aspen and Pine Forests in the Canadian Rocky Mountains (Alberta)

Document Type

Article

Journal/Book Title/Conference

Soil-Biology-and-Biochemistry/5th International symposium on earthworm ecology held in Columbus, Ohio, USA, 5-9 July 1994

Volume

29

Issue

3-4

First Page

265

Last Page

273

Publication Date

1997

Abstract

drobaena octaedra (Savigny) and to a lesser extent Dendrodtilus rubidus (Savigny) recently colonized an aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) and pine (Pinus contorta Loud.) forest in the Rocky Moun- tains of southwest Alberta (Canada). Soil sampling along transects from a road into aspen and pine forests in 1992 showed that earthworm numbers decreased with distance from the road in both forests. A maximum of 3218 and 627 ind. m-* were found in the aspen (August) and pine forest (June), respectively. Barthworm density in the aspen forest increased from May until August reaching a maximum of 2621 ind. m - * and then decreased. Juveniles dominated and only a few adult specimens were present. Cocoon density varied between 2536 and 3699 m - *. Within the soil profile cocoons were almost exclusively located in H material. The vertical distribution of D. octaedra varied between sampling dates. From May to July earthworms pre- ferentially colonized H material whereas in August and September most earthworms were found in F ma- terial. The data indicate that only few earthworms survive the harsh winter conditions. The rate of survival of cocoons was relatively high (average 48%). but viability depended on cocoon size. 0 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd

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