My coworker, Luke, left a very disturbing article on my desk today that he had torn out of the New York Times about earthworms destroying forest ecosystems!
I have heard about fishermen throwing unused bait on riverbanks and these worms changing the soil content so that the native flora died out and more aggressive "weedy" varieties took over. It seems the worms destroy the forest floor by upestting the micro-fungal colonies that decompose the leaf litter and woody material. The calcium infused worm castings change the pH from acidic to more alkaline and also add a stronger dose of nutrients such as nitrogen.
I love the earthworms! The boys at work have teased me for sifting through soil we're trashing in order to salvage any worms and replant them... maybe from now on I should let them ride on into the landfill in the rubble bags to do their magic there? Overall, it is crucial knowledge for me as far as acidic, woodylandish plantings go since we spread earthworm casting at my firm in fact I did so today in 6 penthouse planters I was spring cleaning... And you know there are eggs in there!
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