Agricultural activities weaken climate restrictions on soil worm populations

the diversity and composition of soil worms under natural habitat conditions are mainly limited by climatic factors, while no significant climatic constraints have been found in farmland worm community. The diversity index of different dimensions of the worm also responds differently to agriculture, which leads to the similarity of the composition of the worm genealogy and the differentiation of the functional composition. The study was published recently in the international journal Global Change Biology.
Li Xianping, lead author of the paper, says changes in land use, such as forest-to-farm transitions, are threatening global biodiversity. Studies have shown that agricultural activities lead to a decline in species diversity, homogenization of species composition, loss of ecosystem function, etc., however, there have been studies focusing on above-ground organisms, such as insects, plants, birds and mammals, less knowledge of underground organisms, in particular the lack of assessment of multiple dimensions of underground biodiversity (e.g. species, functions, genealogy, etc.).
Recently, the Soil Ecology Team of Nanjing Agricultural University systematically analyzed the worm community in three dimensions, including species, function and system development, by collecting soil samples from Chinese mainland 32 sites (16 farmland habitats and 16 adjacent natural habitats), isolating and identifying soil worms, and recording and determining the main climate and soil properties. The results showed that there was no general difference in the diversity and composition of the worms in nature and farmland habitats, but their response to latitude and environmental factors was not the same. The diversity of worms in natural habitat decreases with the increase of latitude, while the diversity of farmworms has no obvious relationship with latitude. The diversity and composition of worms under natural conditions are mainly limited by climatic factors, while no obvious restrictions are found in farmland worm community. In addition, the response of different dimension indicators of worm diversity to agriculture is not the same, and agricultural activities lead to similarity of the composition of the worm genealogy and differentiation of functional composition.Professor Manqiang Liu, author of the
paper, said the study would help to improve our comprehensive understanding of soil biodiversity in agricultural use, particularly for large-scale studies, and help to better understand the impact of land-use change in natural habitats on soil animal diversity in the light of climate change, while emphasizing the importance of integrating multiple dimensions of diversity in soil biodiversity research.The response of soil worm diversity to changes in environment and land use in different dimensions
the first author of the paper is Dr. Li Xianping, a co-author of the study, based on international cooperation, and has teamed up with the likes of Stefan Geisen and Universite Paris-Saclay. The research has been funded by national key research and development projects, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, special research projects in public welfare industries (agriculture), and funding for basic research in central universities. (Source: Nanjing Agricultural University
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