Protection of soil carbon by microaggregates within earthworm casts

Earthworms are known to play a role in aggregate formation and soil organic matter (SOM) protection. However, it is still unclear at what scale and how quickly earthworms manage to protect SOM. We investigated the effects of Aporrectodea caliginosa on aggregation and aggregate-associated C pools using ¹³C-labeled sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) leaf residue. Two incubations were set up. The first incubation consisted of soil samples crushed <250 μm to break up all macroaggregates with three treatments: (i) control soil; (ii) soil+¹³C-labeled residue and (iii) soil+¹³C-labeled residue+earthworms. Earthworms were added after 8 d and 12 d (days) later, aggregate size distribution was measured together with total C and ¹³C in each aggregate fraction. A second incubation was made to assay protected versus unprotected total C and ¹³C from 21-d laboratory incubations of intact and crushed large (>2000 μm) and small (250-2000 μm) macroaggregates and microaggregates (53-250 μm). Eight different pools of aggregate-associated C were quantified: (1) and (2) unprotected C pools in large and small macroaggregates, (3) unprotected C pools in microaggregates, (4) and (5) protected C pools in large and small macroaggregates, (6) protected C pool in microaggregates, and (7) and (8) protected C pools in microaggregates within large and small macroaggregates. In the presence of earthworms, a higher proportion of large macroaggregates was newly formed and these aggregates contained more C and ¹³C compared to bulk soil. There were no significant differences between the samples with or without earthworms in the C pool-sizes protected by macroaggregates, microaggregates or microaggregates within small macroaggregates. However, in the presence of earthworms, the C protected by microaggregates within large macroaggregates was a significant pool and 22% of this C pool was newly added C. In conclusion, these results clearly indicate the direct involvement of earthworms in providing protection of soil C in microaggregates within large macroaggregates leading to a possible long-term stabilization of soil C.