Are redworms native to New England and will they harm natural environments?
Like many things in nature, nothing is as simple as all good or all bad: earthworms can harm some environments. The earthworm’s ability to tunnel through the soil and make passageways for air and water, to decompose organic material and release its nutrients, and essentially “till” the soil is good news for farmers and gardeners who are growing crops that are continually replanted, and where the soil is continually amended. Earthworms essentially prepare the soil for us. However, in forest ecosystems earthworms rapidly decompose the spongy layer of leaves and plant matter that makes up the forest floor. This duff layer is essential to understory development (tree seedlings, wildflowers, ferns, etc.). Earthworms consume the duff faster than nature can replace it, leaving little to support and nourish the rich native plant life. Invasive plants, being opportunists, are moving in. The underlying (no pun intended) problem is that earthworms are not native to most northern parts of the coun
Like many things in nature, nothing is as simple as all good or all bad: earthworms can harm some environments. The earthworm’s ability to tunnel through the soil and make passageways for air and water, to decompose organic material and release its nutrients, and essentially “till” the soil is good news for farmers and gardeners who are growing crops that are continually replanted, and where the soil is continually amended. Earthworms essentially prepare the soil for us. However, in forest ecosystems earthworms rapidly decompose the spongy layer of leaves and plant matter that makes up the forest floor. This duff layer is essential to understory development (tree seedlings, wildflowers, ferns, etc.). Earthworms consume the duff faster than nature can replace it, leaving little to support and nourish the rich native plant life. Invasive plants, being opportunists, are moving in. The underlying (no pun intended) problem is that earthworms are not native to most northern parts of the coun
