The Use of Radiocarbon to Measure the Effects of Earthworms on Soil Development
Issue Date
1980-01-01Keywords
Vermesgenesis
soils
organic compounds
organic materials
methods
C 14
carbon
dates
isotopes
radioactive isotopes
Invertebrata
C 13 C 12
stable isotopes
absolute age
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Stout, J. D., & Goh, K. (1980). The use of radiocarbon to measure the effects of earthworms on soil development. Radiocarbon, 22(3), 892-896.Publisher
American Journal of ScienceJournal
RadiocarbonDescription
From the 10th International Radiocarbon Conference held in Bern, Switzerland and Heidelberg, Germany, August 19-26, 1979.Additional Links
http://radiocarbon.webhost.uits.arizona.edu/Abstract
Delta-14C and delta-13C values for organic matter in forest and grassland soils, in the presence or absence of earthworms, indicate that it should be possible to quantify the effects of earthworms on soil organic matter by this means. Without earthworms, both in forest and grassland soils, plant debris tends to accumulate on the surface of the mineral soil and little organic matter is incorporated into or is translocated down the soil profile. Where earthworms are present, there is much more marked incorporation of fresh plant debris in the mineral soil. This is shown especially by the pulse of `bomb' carbon and also by the delta-13C values.Type
Proceedingstext
Language
enISSN
0033-8222ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1017/S0033822200010298