The benefits of vermiculture in agroecology and the detriment of invasive earthworms to northern Michigan forest ecosystems

Abstract

Earthworms are often thought of as beneficial ecosystem engineers, but always in the context of agroecology. Vermicomposting is an incredibly efficient method for fertilizing crop fields, but the things that make them such a benefit to agricultural systems makes them a detriment to the health of native forest environments. Invasions of introduced exotic earthworms, driven by human activities that facilitate dispersal, have been having devastating effects 011 Northern Michigan forests. This study looks at which forests are the most vulnerable to invasion and what factors make them ideal habitats for exotic species, as well as how much organic matter invasive earthworms can remove from leaf litter and topsoil layers of forest environments in a given amount of time. Methods for conservation and invasion containment are also suggested, with a focus on spreading awareness that earthworms are not native to Michigan.