Helen Phillips, researcher at the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) and Leipzig University (UL). "Researchers have known for decades that for any given area in the tropics we would usually expect more species than in the same sized area in temperate regions," says first author Dr. It is for these reasons that earthworms are considered highly important "ecosystem engineers." This importance is also reflected by the large amount of biomass that accumulates in earthworms: in fact, the total earthworm biomass is often larger than that of all mammals living in the same area.Īlthough the impacts of earthworms on ecosystems and the services they provide to people are well known, little is known about how they are distributed on a global scale. By doing so, they drive a wide range of ecosystem services, such as nutrient provision, freshwater supply, carbon storage, climate mitigation or seed dispersal. They dig holes, mix soil components and eat organic debris.
Where the soil is not frozen (permafrost), too wet, acidic, or completely dry (deserts), earthworms substantially shape the way ecosystems function. Earthworms are found in many ecosystems worldwide.
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