I couldn't believe this when I heard it -- there were no big fat earthworms in North America before the Europeans arrived. At least, not what we would think of as earthworms. I should know things like this!
Apparently, their introduction changed the N.E. forests forever, and although farmers and gardeners generally love them not all of the impacts of the non-native worms are good. Something else I never would have imagined -- how could worms be bad?
Thanks to Chaz at the Jasmine Pearl Tea Merchants for pointing this out to me.
[photo credit in "earthworm" link above]
6 comments:
No earthworms of any sort, or just the larger variety (-ties)?
There were various worms and earthworms, but none that were ubiquitous and there were large areas of the U.S. without any significant worm populations -- thus the forest litter situation mentioned in the article.
I want (and need) to research this more, it's intriguing to me.
I wrote a couple years ago about there being no Earthworms native to Canada due to the fact that ice sheets wiped them out and they never recovered. when Europeans came they brought soil, and European Earthworms are no the only species in Canada.
More research needed.
I've been digging in the yard here (god, this valley is devoid of rocks, unlike my pasture in the Snoq Valley). The soil here is designated as primary and secondary agricultural. It's beautiful, rich (altho a little heavy on clay) and loaded wit' dem Euro-worms. Can't wait to get the garden in. I just need my back to recover from the last 2 projects.
I can taste the fresh heirloom tomatoes and the hot peppers now...
Answering my own initial question:
The linked article cites two varieties of worm -- "specifically the common night crawler and the red marsh worm, creatures that did not exist in the Americas before Columbus" -- and notes that "The hardwood forests of New England and the upper Midwest, for instance, have no native earthworms—they were apparently wiped out in the last Ice Age".
Not quite as broad as I had inferred, but still pretty interesting.
BP, remind me to lend you "The Trout Pool Paradox", a natural history of three watersheds in Connecticut. It details the impact of European settlement and exploitation of the land in that area. It was especially interesting to me, as I know the places of which the author writes, but I think you will find it fascinating.
thats amazing ><
I Never even would of considered it.
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