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Do invasive jumping worms impact sugar maple (Acer saccharum) water-use dynamics in a Central Hardwoods forest?

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Abstract

Although non-native earthworms are known to drastically change forest soils and understory plant communities, comparatively little is known about how the introduction of different earthworm groups may alter perennial plant functioning (i.e., physiological, morphological, and/or anatomical traits), or how these dynamics may vary between different earthworm groups. Our objective was to assess whether a recent replacement of European earthworms by Amynthas spp. (i.e., Asian “jumping worms”) in a Central Hardwoods forest of the Upper Midwest impacts patterns of water use in dominant overstory Acer saccharum Marshall (sugar maple). We found that (1) soil water content was often greater in Amynthas sites, (2) compared to those growing in sites with only European earthworms, A. saccharum growing with Amynthas had higher midday leaf water potential values (a measure of greater plant water status) early in 2017 but lower midday leaf water potential by the end of 2018, and (3) A. saccharum from Amynthas sites had fewer, but wider xylem conduits than trees from European sites, but this trend was not significant and was not associated with differences in stem hydraulic functioning between the two groups. Overall, these results suggest that Amynthas invasions may not impact the overstory of A. saccharum—dominated forests within the Upper Midwest, at least early during invasions of forests colonized by existing earthworms or during growing seasons with above-average precipitation. Future work should investigate the impacts of different earthworm groups on tree water and nutrient relations over longer periods of colonization and in different tree age classes.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Kevin Hobbins and Sam Jaeger for their help with data collection and sample processing. We also thank Brad Herrick and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum for their logistical support and providing the field facility. Finally, we thank Steven Augustine, K. Clove, Rachel Jordan, Amanda Salvi, and Thomas Sargent for their helpful comments on this manuscript. Funding for KO and KAM was provided by the DOE TES Award DE-SC0019037. This research was also supported by University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Letters and Science and the National Science Foundation Grant IOS-1557906 to KAM.

Funding

Funding for KO and KAM was provided by the DOE TES Award DE-SC0019037. This research was also supported by University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Letters and Science funding to KAM.

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  1. Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 53706, USA

    Kimberly O’Keefe & Katherine A. McCulloh

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  1. Kimberly O’Keefe
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  2. Katherine A. McCulloh
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KO and KAM conceived the ideas and methodology. KO collected the data, analyzed the data, and led the writing of the manuscript. Both authors contributed critically to the drafts and gave final approval for publication.

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Correspondence to Kimberly O’Keefe.

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O’Keefe, K., McCulloh, K.A. Do invasive jumping worms impact sugar maple (Acer saccharum) water-use dynamics in a Central Hardwoods forest?. Biol Invasions 23, 129–141 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-020-02360-z

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