Litter Controls Earthworm-Mediated Carbon and Nitrogen Transformations in Soil from Temperate Riparian Buffers

Table 2

Earthworm biomass, number of individuals, and percentage change after 20 wks in soil microcosms with riparian litter. Values are the mean ± standard error (). There was no significant change in biomass or numbers.

	Earthworm biomass			Earthworm numbers
	( fresh weight per microcosm)			(individuals per microcosm)
Litter	Initial	Final	Change in biomass (%)	Initial	Final	Change in individuals (%)
treatment
Soybean	1.8	2.7 ± 0.2	54.6 ± 37	5	5.7 ± 0.2	0.8
Reed canarygrass	1.6	1.8 ± 0.4	25.1 ± 33	5	5.2 ± 0.1	0.3
Deciduous-mix	2.2	2.7 ± 0.3	20.2 ± 28	5	6.2 ± 0.1	1.3
No litter	1.4	1.3 ± 0.6	7.7 ± 28	5	6.5 ± 0.2	1.5
Paired t-test	t	DF	value
	−1.5221	15	0.1488