Earthworm activity as a determinant for N2O emission from crop residue

Earthworm activity may have an effect on nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from crop residue. However, the importance of this effect and its main controlling variables are largely unknown. The main objective of this study was to determine under which conditions and to what extent earthworm activity impacts N2O emissions from grass residue. For this purpose we initiated a 90-day (experiment I) and a 50-day (experiment II) laboratory mesocosm experiment using a Typic Fluvaquent pasture soil with silt loam texture. In all treatments, residue was applied, and emissions of N2O and carbon dioxide (CO2) were measured. In experiment I the residue was applied on top of the soil surface and we tested (a) the effects of the anecic earthworm species Aporrectodea longa (Ude) vs. the epigeic species Lumbricus rubellus (Hoffmeister) and (b) interactions between earthworm activity and bulk density (1.06 vs. 1.61 g cm−3). In experiment II we tested the effect of L. rubellus after residue was artificially incorporated in the soil. In experiment I, N2O emissions in the presence of earthworms significantly increased from 55.7 to 789.1 μg N2O-N kg−1 soil (L. rubellus; p<0.001) or to 227.2 μg N2O-N kg−1 soil (A. longa; p<0.05). This effect was not dependent on bulk density. However, if the residue was incorporated into the soil (experiment II) the earthworm effect disappeared and emissions were higher (1064.2 μg N2O-N kg−1 soil). At the end of the experiment and after removal of earthworms, a drying/wetting and freezing/thawing cycle resulted in significantly higher emissions of N2O and CO2 from soil with prior presence of L. rubellus. Soil with prior presence of L. rubellus also had higher potential denitrification. We conclude that the main effect of earthworm activity on N2O emissions is through mixing residue into the soil, switching residue decomposition from an aerobic and low denitrification pathway to one with significant denitrification and N2O production. Furthermore, A. longa activity resulted in more stable soil organic matter than L. rubellus.