Oil palm and rubber expansion facilitates earthworm invasion in Indonesia

摘要: Deforestation, plantation expansion and other human activities in tropical ecosystems are often associated with biological invasions. These processes have been studied for above-ground organisms, but changes below the ground received little attention. We surveyed rainforest systems Jambi province, Sumatra, Indonesia, to investigate effects of land-use change on diversity abundance earthworms—a major group soil-ecosystem engineers that is activities. Density biomass earthworms increased 4—30-fold oil palm rubber monoculture plantations compared rainforest. Despite much higher abundance, earthworm communities were less diverse dominated by peregrine morphospecies Pontoscolex corethrurus, recorded as invasive. Considering high deforestation rate invasive expected dominate soil across region near future, lieu native biodiversity. Ecologically-friendly management approaches, increasing structural habitat complexity plant diversity, may foster beneficial growth while mitigating negative below-ground biodiversity functioning animal community.