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      Campsites, forest fires, and entry point distance affect earthworm abundance in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness

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          Abstract

          Factors controlling the spread of invasive earthworms in Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness are poorly known. Believed to have been introduced by anglers who use them as bait, invasive earthworms can alter the physical and chemical properties of soil and modify forest plant communities. To examine factors influencing earthworm distribution and abundance, we sampled 38 islands across five lakes to assess the effects of campsites, fire and entry point distance on earthworm density, biomass and species richness. We hypothesized that all three parameters would be greater on islands with campsites, lower on burned islands and would decrease with distance from the wilderness entry point. In addition to sampling earthworms, we collected soil cores to examine soil organic matter and recorded ground and vegetation cover. Campsite presence was the single most important factor affecting sampled earthworm communities; density, biomass and species richness were all higher on islands having campsites. Fire was associated with reduced earthworm density, but had no direct effects on earthworm biomass or species richness. Fire influenced earthworm biomass primarily through its negative relationship to groundcover and through an interaction with entry point distance. Entry point distance itself affected earthworm density and biomass. For islands with campsites, earthworm biomass increased with distance from the entry point.

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          A review of earthworm impact on soil function and ecosystem services

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            Non-native invasive earthworms as agents of change in northern temperate forests

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              Ecosystem Consequences of Exotic Earthworm Invasion of North Temperate Forests

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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                Journal
                PeerJ
                PeerJ
                PeerJ
                PeerJ
                PeerJ
                PeerJ Inc. (San Diego, USA )
                2167-8359
                25 February 2020
                2020
                : 8
                : e8656
                Affiliations
                Biology Department, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire , Eau Claire, WI, USA
                Article
                8656
                10.7717/peerj.8656
                7047863
                119fdde0-bf59-4f3d-afee-3d4482c2898c
                © 2020 Wellnitz et al.

                This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction and adaptation in any medium and for any purpose provided that it is properly attributed. For attribution, the original author(s), title, publication source (PeerJ) and either DOI or URL of the article must be cited.

                History
                : 19 March 2019
                : 28 January 2020
                Funding
                Funded by: University of Wisconsin—Eau Claire’s Office of Research and Sponsored Programs
                This project was supported by BluGold Commitment funding provided by the University of Wisconsin—Eau Claire’s Office of Research and Sponsored Programs. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
                Categories
                Conservation Biology
                Environmental Impacts

                fire,campsites,bwcaw,entry point,lake islands,human impacts,invasive species,earthworms

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