02155nas a2200229 4500008004100000245009300041210006900134300001300203490000700216520149300223653000901716653001901725653001501744653001301759653001201772653001601784653001501800100001701815700001501832700001601847856006201863 2014 eng d00aColonization and recovery of invertebrate ecosystem engineers during prairie restoration0 aColonization and recovery of invertebrate ecosystem engineers du a456 -4640 v223 a
Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and earthworms (Oligochaeta) are considered ecosystem engineers because they form biogenic structures in the soil that influence resource supply. The objectives of this study were to quantify recovery dynamics of these invertebrate groups across a chronosequence of restored prairies and elucidate whether changes in the abundance and biomass of ants and earthworms were related to key plant and ecosystem properties. We sampled ants and earthworms from cultivated fields, grasslands restored from 1 to 21 years, and native prairie. Ant abundance and biomass peaked between 5 and 8 years of restoration and abundance was 198 times greater than cultivated fields. Earthworm abundance increased linearly across the chronosequence and became representative of native prairie, but all earthworm populations were dominated by European species. Ant abundance and biomass were positively correlated with plant diversity and plant richness, whereas earthworm abundance biomass was only related to surface litter. These results demonstrate that earthworm abundance increases with time since cessation of cultivation and concomitant with prairie establishment, whereas the abundance and biomass of ants are more related to the structure of restored plant communities than time. The dominance of exotic earthworms in these restorations, coupled with their capacity to alter soil properties and processes may represent novel conditions for grassland development.
10aants10achronosequence10aearthworms10aIllinois10aprairie10arestoration10asoil fauna1 aWodika, B.R.1 aBaer, S.G.1 aKlopf, R.P. uhttps://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/rec.12084