Global data on earthworm abundance, biomass, diversity and corresponding environmental properties

Publisher Copyright: © 2021, The Author(s).Earthworms are an important soil taxon as ecosystem engineers, providing a variety of crucial ecosystem functions and services. Little is known about their diversity and distribution at large spatial scales, despite the availability of considerable amounts of local-scale data. Earthworm diversity data, obtained from the primary literature or provided directly by authors, were collated with information on site locations, including coordinates, habitat cover, and soil properties. Datasets were required, at a minimum, to include abundance or biomass of earthworms at a site. Where possible, site-level species lists were included, as well as the abundance and biomass of individual species and ecological groups. This global dataset contains 10,840 sites, with 184 species, from 60 countries and all continents except Antarctica. The data were obtained from 182 published articles, published between 1973 and 2017, and 17 unpublished datasets. Amalgamating data into a single global database will assist researchers in investigating and answering a wide variety of pressing questions, for example, jointly assessing aboveground and belowground biodiversity distributions and drivers of biodiversity change.Peer reviewe

Global data on earthworm abundance, biomass, diversity and corresponding environmental properties

Earthworms are an important soil taxon as ecosystem engineers, providing a variety of crucial ecosystem functions and services. Little is known about their diversity and distribution at large spatial scales, despite the availability of considerable amounts of local-scale data. Earthworm diversity data, obtained from the primary literature or provided directly by authors, were collated with information on site locations, including coordinates, habitat cover, and soil properties. Datasets were required, at a minimum, to include abundance or biomass of earthworms at a site. Where possible, site-level species lists were included, as well as the abundance and biomass of individual species and ecological groups. This global dataset contains 10,840 sites, with 184 species, from 60 countries and all continents except Antarctica. The data were obtained from 182 published articles, published between 1973 and 2017, and 17 unpublished datasets. Amalgamating data into a single global database will assist researchers in investigating and answering a wide variety of pressing questions, for example, jointly assessing aboveground and belowground biodiversity distributions and drivers of biodiversity change

Meadow biogeocenoses in the subalpine belt of the Kabardino-Balkaria State High-Mountain Reserve (Central Caucasus)

The study describes the current ecological-biological state of the high-mountain meadow biogeocoenoses' components (soils, vegetation, earthworms), which were formed in the subalpine belt of the Cherek-Bezengi canyon in the Kabardino-Balkaria State High-Mountain Reserve. The vegetation has been represented mainly by subalpine meadows. In medium-grass meadow phytocoenoses, the proportion of mesophytes was 70%, xeromesophytes – 20%, mesoxerophytes – 10%. Synecological indices (Shannon Index, Simpson Index, Pielou Index, Hartley Index and integral index) indicated a high floristic and phytocenosis diversity of hay meadows and a lower diversity of phytocoenoses of disturbed areas. Lumbricidae were the best represented in the mesofauna. Six species (with dominance of Dendrobaena schmidti) have been found in a small site of the Cherek-Bezengi canyon. These species are adapted to the cold and humid climate of the high-mountain region of the Central Caucasus. Distribution of forest earthworm species in the subalpine belt and changes of their habitats indicated more comfortable temperature conditions of meadow ecosystems in comparison with forest ecosystems. It also demonstrates the role of thermal balance as the basic limiting factor forming biotic coenoses. Based on enzymatic activity parameters and humus content, we determined the levels and spatial variation of biological activity of mountain-meadow subalpine soils which have been formed under meadow phytocoenoses. We have shown the essential dominance of hydrolase activity (high and middle levels) in comparison with oxidoreductase activity (low and very low levels). This characterises the intensity and direction of biochemical processes in high-mountain soil. Under conditions of disturbed phytocoenoses, we have determined a decrease of both the total soil biological activity (at 65%) and the integral biodiversity index (at 20%). A close joint connection between the investigated biological parameters (r = 0.74–0.86) reflected the important role of biotic communities' diversity in forming biological activity of mountain-meadow subalpine soils. The obtained data serve as a basis for monitoring of the soil-vegetation cover. Their protection is a requirement to maintain the biodiversity status in the Kabardino-Balkaria State High-Mountain Reserve

Influence of Structure of Detrital Food Webs on Fusarium Head Blight of Winter Wheat

Conventional methods for Fusarium head blight (FHB) control are ineffective. A better understanding of the mechanisms linking the abundance of Fusarium species in soil before winter wheat flowering and mycotoxin content in mature grain may help to improve the effectiveness of methods for FHB control. In this study, we established a field experiment aimed to trace the impact of three types of organic mulch with different C:N ratios on the structure of detrital food webs and the manifestation of winter wheat FHB. T2-toxin content in grain was significantly higher in N-poor treatment (52.1 ± 0.2 µg g−1) compared to N-rich treatment (40.4 ± 1.6 µg g−1). The structure of detrital food webs in the studied treatments changed significantly after mulch addition; the abundance of soil saprophages and mycophages increased up to 50%. Based on the results of mixed-effects modeling, the abundance of herpetobionts and soil mesofauna were positively associated with an increase in Fusarium biomass in grain. The increase in the content of T2-toxin in the grain was associated with an increase in the abundance of earthworms and phytophagous macrofauna in the soil. Results suggest the existence of a previously undescribed mechanism for FHB infection by transfer of pathogenic spores by soil invertebrates, while the content of mycotoxins in grain can be triggered by the grazing activity of soil phytophagous invertebrates

The effect of natural disturbances on forest biodiversity: an ecological synthesis

Disturbances alter biodiversity via their specific characteristics, including severity and extent in the landscape, which act at different temporal and spatial scales. Biodiversity response to disturbance also depends on the community characteristics and habitat requirements of species. Untangling the mechanistic interplay of these factors has guided disturbance ecology for decades, generating mixed scientific evidence of biodiversity responses to disturbance. Understanding the impact of natural disturbances on biodiversity is increasingly important due to human-induced changes in natural disturbance regimes. In many areas, major natural forest disturbances, such as wildfires, windstorms, and insect outbreaks, are becoming more frequent, intense, severe, and widespread due to climate change and land-use change. Conversely, the suppression of natural disturbances threatens disturbance-dependent biota. Using a meta-analytic approach, we analysed a global data set (with most sampling concentrated in temperate and boreal secondary forests) of species assemblages of 26 taxonomic groups, including plants, animals, and fungi collected from forests affected by wildfires, windstorms, and insect outbreaks. The overall effect of natural disturbances on α-diversity did not differ significantly from zero, but some taxonomic groups responded positively to disturbance, while others tended to respond negatively. Disturbance was beneficial for taxonomic groups preferring conditions associated with open canopies (e.g. hymenopterans and hoverflies), whereas ground-dwelling groups and/or groups typically associated with shady conditions (e.g. epigeic lichens and mycorrhizal fungi) were more likely to be negatively impacted by disturbance. Across all taxonomic groups, the highest α-diversity in disturbed forest patches occurred under moderate disturbance severity, i.e. with approximately 55% of trees killed by disturbance. We further extended our meta-analysis by applying a unified diversity concept based on Hill numbers to estimate α-diversity changes in different taxonomic groups across a gradient of disturbance severity measured at the stand scale and incorporating other disturbance features. We found that disturbance severity negatively affected diversity for Hill number q = 0 but not for q = 1 and q = 2, indicating that diversity-disturbance relationships are shaped by species relative abundances. Our synthesis of α-diversity was extended by a synthesis of disturbance-induced change in species assemblages, and revealed that disturbance changes the β-diversity of multiple taxonomic groups, including some groups that were not affected at the α-diversity level (birds and woody plants). Finally, we used mixed rarefaction/extrapolation to estimate biodiversity change as a function of the proportion of forests that were disturbed, i.e. the disturbance extent measured at the landscape scale. The comparison of intact and naturally disturbed forests revealed that both types of forests provide habitat for unique species assemblages, whereas species diversity in the mixture of disturbed and undisturbed forests peaked at intermediate values of disturbance extent in the simulated landscape. Hence, the relationship between α-diversity and disturbance severity in disturbed forest stands was strikingly similar to the relationship between species richness and disturbance extent in a landscape consisting of both disturbed and undisturbed forest habitats. This result suggests that both moderate disturbance severity and moderate disturbance extent support the highest levels of biodiversity in contemporary forest landscapes

Case–control association study of 59 candidate genes reveals the DRD2 SNP rs6277 (C957T) as the only susceptibility factor for schizophrenia in the Bulgarian population

The development of molecular psychiatry in the last few decades identified a number of candidate genes that could be associated with schizophrenia. A great number of studies often result with controversial and non-conclusive outputs. However, it was determined that each of the implicated candidates would independently have a minor effect on the susceptibility to that disease. Herein we report results from our replication study for association using 255 Bulgarian patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder and 556 Bulgarian healthy controls. We have selected from the literatures 202 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 59 candidate genes, which previously were implicated in disease susceptibility, and we have genotyped them. Of the 183 SNPs successfully genotyped, only 1 SNP, rs6277 (C957T) in the DRD2 gene (P=0.0010, odds ratio=1.76), was considered to be significantly associated with schizophrenia after the replication study using independent sample sets. Our findings support one of the most widely considered hypotheses for schizophrenia etiology, the dopaminergic hypothesis

Global data on earthworm abundance, biomass, diversity and corresponding environmental properties

Publisher Copyright: © 2021, The Author(s).Earthworms are an important soil taxon as ecosystem engineers, providing a variety of crucial ecosystem functions and services. Little is known about their diversity and distribution at large spatial scales, despite the availability of considerable amounts of local-scale data. Earthworm diversity data, obtained from the primary literature or provided directly by authors, were collated with information on site locations, including coordinates, habitat cover, and soil properties. Datasets were required, at a minimum, to include abundance or biomass of earthworms at a site. Where possible, site-level species lists were included, as well as the abundance and biomass of individual species and ecological groups. This global dataset contains 10,840 sites, with 184 species, from 60 countries and all continents except Antarctica. The data were obtained from 182 published articles, published between 1973 and 2017, and 17 unpublished datasets. Amalgamating data into a single global database will assist researchers in investigating and answering a wide variety of pressing questions, for example, jointly assessing aboveground and belowground biodiversity distributions and drivers of biodiversity change.Peer reviewe

Global data on earthworm abundance, biomass, diversity and corresponding environmental properties

Earthworms are an important soil taxon as ecosystem engineers, providing a variety of crucial ecosystem functions and services. Little is known about their diversity and distribution at large spatial scales, despite the availability of considerable amounts of local-scale data. Earthworm diversity data, obtained from the primary literature or provided directly by authors, were collated with information on site locations, including coordinates, habitat cover, and soil properties. Datasets were required, at a minimum, to include abundance or biomass of earthworms at a site. Where possible, site-level species lists were included, as well as the abundance and biomass of individual species and ecological groups. This global dataset contains 10,840 sites, with 184 species, from 60 countries and all continents except Antarctica. The data were obtained from 182 published articles, published between 1973 and 2017, and 17 unpublished datasets. Amalgamating data into a single global database will assist researchers in investigating and answering a wide variety of pressing questions, for example, jointly assessing aboveground and belowground biodiversity distributions and drivers of biodiversity change