British Trust for Ornithology, The Nunnery, Thetford, United Kingdom.
Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
PLoS One. 2023 Apr 3;18(4):e0282069. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0282069. eCollection 2023.
Large-scale declines in terrestrial insects have been reported over much of Europe and across the world, however, population change assessments of other key invertebrate groups, such as soil invertebrates, have been largely neglected through a lack of available monitoring data. This study collates historic data from previously published studies to assess whether it is possible to infer previously undocumented long-term changes in soil invertebrate abundance. Earthworm and tipulid data were collated from over 100 studies across the UK, spanning almost 100 years. Analyses suggested long-term declines in earthworm abundance of between 1.6 to 2.1% per annum, equivalent to a 33% to 41% decline over 25 years. These appeared greatest in broadleaved woodlands and farmland habitats, and were greater in pasture than arable farmland. Significant differences in earthworm abundance between habitats varied between models but appeared to be highest in urban greenspaces and agricultural pasture. More limited data were available on tipulid abundance, which showed no significant change over time or variation between enclosed farmland and unenclosed habitats. Declines in earthworm populations could be contributing to overall declines in ecosystem function and biodiversity as they are vital for a range of ecosystem services and are keystone prey for many vertebrate species. If robust, our results identify a previously undetected biodiversity decline that would be a significant conservation and economic issue in the UK, and if replicated elsewhere, internationally. We highlight the need for long-term and large-scale soil invertebrate monitoring, which potentially could be carried out by citizen/community scientists.
据报道，欧洲和世界各地的陆生昆虫数量大规模减少，但由于缺乏可用的监测数据，其他关键无脊椎动物群体（如土壤无脊椎动物）的种群变化评估在很大程度上被忽视。本研究通过整合先前发表的研究中的历史数据，评估是否可以推断出以前未记录的土壤无脊椎动物丰度的长期变化。从英国各地的 100 多项研究中收集了蚯蚓和摇蚊的数据，时间跨度近 100 年。分析表明，蚯蚓数量长期以每年 1.6%至 2.1%的速度减少，相当于 25 年内减少 33%至 41%。这些变化在阔叶林和农田生境中最为明显，在牧场中比在耕地中更为明显。不同模型之间栖息地之间蚯蚓丰度的显著差异，但在城市绿地和农业牧场中似乎最高。关于摇蚊丰度的可用数据更为有限，其随时间没有明显变化，在封闭农田和未封闭栖息地之间也没有变化。蚯蚓数量的减少可能导致生态系统功能和生物多样性的整体下降，因为它们对一系列生态系统服务至关重要，是许多脊椎动物物种的关键猎物。如果结果可靠，我们的研究结果将确定以前未被发现的生物多样性下降，这将是英国一个重大的保护和经济问题，如果在其他地方得到复制，也将是一个国际问题。我们强调需要进行长期和大规模的土壤无脊椎动物监测，这可能由公民/社区科学家来进行。
