Effects of historic metal(loid) pollution on earthworm communities
2015
Lévèque, Thibaut | Capowiez, Yvan | Schreck, Eva | Mombo, Stéphane | Mazzia, Christophe | Foucault, Yann | Dumat, Camille | Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement (LEFE) ; Institut Ecologie et Environnement - CNRS Ecologie et Environnement (INEE-CNRS) ; Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3) ; Communauté d'universités et établissements de Toulouse (Comue de Toulouse)-Communauté d'universités et établissements de Toulouse (Comue de Toulouse)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP) ; Communauté d'universités et établissements de Toulouse (Comue de Toulouse) | Unité de recherche Plantes et Systèmes de Culture Horticoles (PSH) ; Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA) | Géosciences Environnement Toulouse (GET) ; Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3) ; Communauté d'universités et établissements de Toulouse (Comue de Toulouse)-Communauté d'universités et établissements de Toulouse (Comue de Toulouse)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) | Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP) ; Communauté d'universités et établissements de Toulouse (Comue de Toulouse) | Abeilles et Environnement (AE) ; Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Avignon Université (AU) | Institut méditerranéen de biodiversité et d'écologie marine et continentale (IMBE) ; Avignon Université (AU)-Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Institut de recherche pour le développement [IRD] : UMR237-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) | Centre d'Etude et de Recherche Travail Organisation Pouvoir (CERTOP) ; Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J) ; Communauté d'universités et établissements de Toulouse (Comue de Toulouse)-Communauté d'universités et établissements de Toulouse (Comue de Toulouse)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3) ; Communauté d'universités et établissements de Toulouse (Comue de Toulouse)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) | STCM (Metal Chemical Treatments Society); ADEME; CNRS; national French research project EC<INF>2</INF>CO through the Biotuba Project | ANR-11-LABX-0066,SMS/SSW,Structurations des mondes sociaux(2011)
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Show more [+] Less [-]English. The effects of metal(loid)s (Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn, As and Sb) from atmospheric fallout on earthworm communities were investigated in a fallow meadow located close to a 60-year-old lead recycling factory. We examined abundance and species diversity as well as the ratio of adult-to-juvenile earthworms, along five 140 m parallel transects. The influence of soil pollution on the earthworm community at the plot scale was put in context by measuring some physico-chemical soil characteristics (OM content, N content, pH), as well as total and bioavailable metal(loid) concentrations. Earthworms were absent in the highly polluted area (concentration from 30,000 to 5000 mg Pb . kg(-1) of dried soil), just near the factory (0-30 m area). A clear and almost linear relationship was observed between the proportion of juvenile versus mature earthworms and the pollution gradient, with a greater proportion of adults in the most polluted zones (only adult earthworms were observed from 30 to 50 m).Apporectodea longa was the main species present just near the smelter (80% of the earthworms were A. longa from 30 to 50 m). The earthworm density was found to increase progressively from five individuals . m(-2) at 30 m to 135 individuals. m(-2) at 140 m from the factory. On average, metal(loid) accumulation in earthworm tissues decreased linearly with distance from the factory. The concentration of exchangeable metal(loid)s in earthworm surface casts was higher than that of the overall soil. Finally, our field study clearly demonstrated that metal(loid) pollution has a direct impact on earthworm communities (abundance, diversity and proportion of juveniles) especially when Pb concentrations in soil were higher than 2050 mg. kg-1. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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