Earthworm Lumbricus terrestris in the soil.
With the recent rain we saw earthworms emerge from their holes and stretch their way to other locations. The Robins were happy, and probably the people who fish but, did you know that earthworms are actually an invasive species? Yes, that’s correct – invasive species!
There are many types of earthworm species now in Canada, none of them native. It is likely that any native species were wiped out by glacial ice thousands of years ago. So, the invaders were brought here by Europeans and now other types are coming in from Asian countries.
The earthworms have the ability to change the basic structure and process within our forest ecosystems. They may be helpful in our gardens but, they are a threat to our forests.
Microbes, mites, nematodes, and fungi found in soil normally break down the organic matter in forests and they do this slowly…and that is what those ecosystems are used to. When earthworms move into forests, they devour leaf litter rapidly, speeding up decomposition which is harmful because they are changing the soil environment.
As the worms move further north, forests are losing their capacity to store carbon and are emitting more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than they are absorbing!
The spread of these critters is usually down to human activity.
What can we do to stop the invasion?
We can really limit the transfer of soils from location to location and stop dumping bait! The forests will thank you!
