Mapping earthworm communities in Europe

Abstract

Existing data sets on earthworm communities in Europe were collected, harmonized,\nmodelled and depicted on a soil biodiversity map of Europe. Digital Soil Mapping was applied using\nmultiple regressions relating relatively low density earthworm community data to soil characteristics,\nland use, vegetation and climate factors (covariables) with a greater spatial resolution. Statistically\nsignificant relationships were used to build habitat-response models for constructing earthworm maps\nwith abundance, species richness, and diversity data. While a good number of environmental\npredictors were significant in our multiple regressions, geographical factors alone seem to be less\nrelevant than climatic factors. Despite differing sampling protocols, land use and geological history\nwere the most relevant factors determining the demography and diversity of the earthworms across\nEurope. Case studies from country-specific data sets (France, Germany, Ireland and The Netherlands)\ndemonstrated the importance and efficiency of large databases for the detection of large spatial\npatterns that could be subsequently applied at smaller (local) scales.