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Pasture damage by an Amazonian earthworm

Author

Listed:
  • Armand Chauvel

    (Laboratoire dEcologie des Sols Tropicaux, ORSTOM)

  • Michel Grimaldi

    (ORSTOM/INRA, Science du Sol)

  • Eleusa Barros

    (INPA/ORSTOM-Ecologia)

  • Eric Blanchart

    (ORSTOM Martinique)

  • Thierry Desjardins

    (Laboratoire dEcologie des Sols Tropicaux, ORSTOM)

  • Max Sarrazin

    (INPA/ORSTOM-Ecologia)

  • Patrick Lavelle

    (Laboratoire dEcologie des Sols Tropicaux, ORSTOM)

Abstract

Almost all cultivated soils undergo some reduction in the porosity of the surface layers, and nowhere is this more evident than in tropical rainforests that have been converted to pastures. Following deforestation in an area of Costa Rica, soil bulk density has been shown to increase rapidly after conversion to pasture, leading to poor drainage and a reduced rate of gaseous diffusion1. These factors limit methane consumption and promote the anaerobic production of methane. A similar effect on methane flux has been found in upland soils in the Brazilian Amazonian basin after conversion from forest to pasture2,3. Increases in atmospheric methane are therefore not limited to emissions from flooded soils4, as forest-to-pasture conversion promotes the anaerobic mineralization of organic matter by changing the physical properties of soil.

Suggested Citation

  • Armand Chauvel & Michel Grimaldi & Eleusa Barros & Eric Blanchart & Thierry Desjardins & Max Sarrazin & Patrick Lavelle, 1999. "Pasture damage by an Amazonian earthworm," Nature, Nature, vol. 398(6722), pages 32-33, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:398:y:1999:i:6722:d:10.1038_17946
    DOI: 10.1038/17946
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    Cited by:

    1. Faver Álvarez & Fernando Casanoves & Juan Carlos Suárez, 2021. "Influence of scattered trees in grazing areas on soil properties in the Piedmont region of the Colombian Amazon," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(12), pages 1-19, December.
    2. Rachmat Mulia & Sam Van Hoang & Van Mai Dinh & Ngoc Bich Thi Duong & Anh Duc Nguyen & Dang Hai Lam & Duyen Thu Thi Hoang & Meine van Noordwijk, 2021. "Earthworm Diversity, Forest Conversion and Agroforestry in Quang Nam Province, Vietnam," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-19, January.

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