Characterization of the burrow system of the earthworms Lumbricus terrestris and Aporrectodea giardi using X-ray computed tomography and image analysis

The burrow systems of two earthworm species (Lumbricus terrestris and Aporrectodea giardi) were studied in artificially packed soil columns placed in controlled conditions in the laboratory. At the end of the incubation, which lasted 246 days, the burrow systems were characterized on the undisturbed...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biology and fertility of soils 1999-07, Vol.29 (3), p.314-318
Main Authors: Jegou, D, Hallaire, V, Cluzeau, D, Trehen, P
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Animals
Aporrectodea
Autoecology
biological activity in soil
Biological and medical sciences
characterization
computed tomography
computer techniques
earthworm burrows
earthworms
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Lumbricus terrestris
number of channels
orientation
Physical properties
Physics, chemistry, biochemistry and biology of agricultural and forest soils
pore volume
Protozoa. Invertebrata
Soil science
spatial distribution
Structure, texture, density, mechanical behavior. Heat and gas exchanges
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Summary:The burrow systems of two earthworm species (Lumbricus terrestris and Aporrectodea giardi) were studied in artificially packed soil columns placed in controlled conditions in the laboratory. At the end of the incubation, which lasted 246 days, the burrow systems were characterized on the undisturbed columns using X-ray computed tomography. This method provided a set of digitized images corresponding to horizontal 3-mm-thick sections. The following parameters were measured using image analysis on each section: number of biopores, their volume, and their individual orientation calculated using an elliptical model of the earthworm channel. The profiles of these parameters through the columns showed that the burrow systems of L. terrestris and A. giardi, which are both anecic species, were very different in terms of total volume, number of burrows, burrow orientation and extension with soil depth. These results led us to conclude that the burrow system of L. terrestris can be considered as a permanent structure whereas that of A. giardi is closer to the burrow system of endogeic species.
ISSN:0178-2762
1432-0789
DOI:10.1007/s003740050558