Seasonal variation in the abundance, biomass and biodiversity of earthworms in soils contaminated with metal emissions from a primary smelting works

1. Earthworms (Annelida: Oligochaeta) were sampled on four occasions (spring, summer, autumn and winter) at 14 sites along two transects from a primary lead/zinc/cadmium smelting works at Avonmouth, UK, 2. Total abundance and biomass of earthworms decreased with proximity to the smelter. No worms were collected from the two sites closest to the factory (<0.6 km) and catches were significantly lower than controls at a further five sites (<3 km). 3. Seasonal composition of sampled communities differed only for summer with lower numbers of individuals and species collected at all sites. Reduced catches in the summer sample is a response to drought. 4. Species richness was lowest at sites close to the factory. For example, worms such as Aporrectodea caliginosa (Savigny) and Allolobophora chlorotica (Savigny) that were dominant at relatively clean sites further from the smelter are absent from the most contaminated soils. 5. Reduced species richness resulted in lower Shannon-Weiner diversity and higher Berger-Parker dominance. Multivariate cluster analysis for spring, summer and winter indicated that sites could be split into three groups based upon relative species composition. In autumn, two clusters were identified. 6. The absence of sensitive species from sites close to the smelting works supports the inclusion of earthworms as a key group in a terrestrial prediction and classification scheme for quantifying the effects of pollutants on soil biodiversity. However, sampling should be carried out in spring or autumn to obtain an accurate picture of community structure.