Solving a puzzle about earthworm function in soil carbon storage: Approach from long term incubation experiment and newest stable isotope technique

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K14910
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Environmental agriculture(including landscape science)
• Research Institution: National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (2016); National Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences (2015)
• Principal Investigator: Kaneda Satoshi 国立研究開発法人農業・食品産業技術総合研究機構, 農業環境変動研究センター・生物多様性研究領域, 上級研究員 (00537920)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: ミミズ / 土壌炭素動態 / 安定同位体 / 長期培養

Outline of Final Research Achievements

From a point of view of global warming prevention by increasing carbon dioxide from soil and prevention of soil degradation by decreasing soil carbon content, elucidating soil carbon dynamics is highly important. It is thought that earthworm enhance soil carbon mineralization by ingesting organic matter, and delay the mineralization by forming soil aggregate. However, still now the earthworm effects are not clear. As soil organic matter decomposition is too slow, long term incubation experiment and using newest stable isotope technique are effective for elucidating the earthworm effects. In this study, we showed soil carbon mineralization decreased in earthworm effected soil, and could advance the elucidating mechanism of earthworm effects on soil carbon dynamics.

Free Research Field

土壌生態学