PhD Scholar

The effects of soil properties and management disturbance on native earthworms in wet eucalypt forest ecosystems

E-mail: Susan.Emmett@anu.edu.au

Forest management practices such as clearcutting, burning and soil disturbance greatly impact on soil quality and soil fertility by the alteration of organic matter inputs, by changes to the soil physical structure and by changing the soil biological and chemical composition. Prescribed burning, thinning and clearcutting remove the forest understorey and energy rich forest floor and impact on soil biological communities, such as earthworms that are dependent on this food source.

This ARC funded project investigates the relationships between vegetation, soil properties (chemical, physical and biological) and native earthworms in several tall eucalypt sites in south-eastern Australia. In addition, the effects of disturbance from forest management operations on native earthworms are being examined. Preliminary findings from the Eucalyptus regnans site suggest that at ten years post-harvest, the probability of native earthworm occurrence is strongly related to soil organic carbon (SOC) content. Such a finding suggests that the proposed Montreal soil indicator, changes in SOC, is representative of important soil biological properties.