Cited 118 times since 2019 (20 per year) source: EuropePMC Science (New York, N.Y.), Volume 366, Issue 6464, 1 1 2019, Pages 480-485 Global distribution of earthworm diversity. Phillips HRP, Guerra CA, Bartz MLC, Briones MJI, Brown G, Crowther TW, Ferlian O, Gongalsky KB, van den Hoogen J, Krebs J, Orgiazzi A, Routh D, Schwarz B, Bach EM, Bennett J, Brose U, Decaëns T, König-Ries B, Loreau M, Mathieu J, Mulder C, van der Putten WH, Ramirez KS, Rillig MC, Russell D, Rutgers M, Thakur MP, de Vries FT, Wall DH, Wardle DA, Arai M, Ayuke FO, Baker GH, Beauséjour R, Bedano JC, Birkhofer K, Blanchart E, Blossey B, Bolger T, Bradley RL, Callaham MA, Capowiez Y, Caulfield ME, Choi A, Crotty FV, Dávalos A, Cosin DJD, Dominguez A, Duhour AE, van Eekeren N, Emmerling C, Falco LB, Fernández R, Fonte SJ, Fragoso C, Franco ALC, Fugère M, Fusilero AT, Gholami S, Gundale MJ, López MG, Hackenberger DK, Hernández LM, Hishi T, Holdsworth AR, Holmstrup M, Hopfensperger KN, Lwanga EH, Huhta V, Hurisso TT, Iannone BV, Iordache M, Joschko M, Kaneko N, Kanianska R, Keith AM, Kelly CA, Kernecker ML, Klaminder J, Koné AW, Kooch Y, Kukkonen ST, Lalthanzara H, Lammel DR, Lebedev IM, Li Y, Lidon JBJ, Lincoln NK,
Soil organisms, including earthworms, are a key component of terrestrial ecosystems. However, little is known about their diversity, their distribution, and the threats affecting them. We compiled a global dataset of sampled earthworm communities from 6928 sites in 57 countries as a basis for predicting patterns in earthworm diversity, abundance, and biomass. We found that local species richness and abundance typically peaked at higher latitudes, displaying patterns opposite to those observed in aboveground organisms. However, high species dissimilarity across tropical locations may cause diversity across the entirety of the tropics to be higher than elsewhere. Climate variables were found to be more important in shaping earthworm communities than soil properties or habitat cover. These findings suggest that climate change may have serious implications for earthworm communities and for the functions they provide.
