The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out, the worms wreak ecological havoc. Navigate Ecology Biosphere Food webs Holism Food Account The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out, the worms wreak ecological havoc. 0 By Jacob C. Sadler on August 20, 2022 Ecology If you live in the contiguous United States, chances are you’ve never seen a native earthworm. It also turns out that the invasive European earthworms that have colonized North America for centuries are causing radical changes in the landscape. I regularly speak about the various environmental issues that would be a cause for concern even without global warming, and this is one of them. Invasive species can wreak incredible amounts of damage, and often in ways that no one sees coming. Apparently, the way they’re changing soil structure and chemistry is reducing water availability for native plants, warming the soil, and even contributing to the so-called “insect apocalypse.” While I grew up thinking worms are good for plants, it turns out that the wrong kind of worms can do as much damage in a forest undergrowth as I’ve ever seen from things like garlic mustard or honeysuckle. Tegan came across this breakdown of where the current frontline of the invasion is and how it deals damage, so I thought I’d share it. There are also a few links above with more information. The first link above indicates that they might help with natural carbon sequestration, but it’s unclear to me how safe that is or how it would balance with the cascading damage caused by their activity. As far as I know, people like us can’t do anything about it right now, but I’ll look out for direct actions that might help. It looks like some forest makeups are hostile to European worms, so maybe there’s a way to do a little ecosystem engineering yourself to fight back. Furthermore, from an ecological point of view, this is one of the many ways that human activities have had a tremendous and fascinating impact on this planet. https://beast-glatisant.tumblr.com/post/692980318805901313/fatehbaz-fatehbaz-more-on-worm-invasion Related posts: What are China’s principles of ecological civilization? OPINION: Emerging economies, ecology and some tough choices for all of us The future of Washington’s water banks | K&L Gates LLP Passive rewilding can expand UK woodland quickly and free of charge Share. Twitter Facebook Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email About Author Jacob C. Sadler Website Comments are closed. Recent Posts Music, art and scavenger hunts at the NAC and Museum of Nature Festival Sartell officials discuss traffic issues at County Road 1 project Underfunding Report, September 2022 – World Holism – A strong tenet of Celtic Christianity Invaluable assets: lush mountains and clear water Archives September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 February 2021 January 2021 October 2020 September 2020 February 2020 December 2016 April 2015 March 2015 Categories Biosphere Ecology Food Account Food webs Holism Privacy Policy Terms and Conditions