2004 Saha and Kukal 2015) and thus affect water flow and retention and soil aeration (Bastardie et al. Aggregates and the space between them allow the retention and exchange of both air and water (Guber et al. Earthworms change the soil structure by modifying soil aggregation and porosity (Shipitalo and Le Bayon 2004 Blouin et al. Soil macrofauna use the soil as a habitat and a source of food, and consequently, they exert a large influence on the physical properties of soils through the diversity and abundance of the structures they produce (Boivin and Kohler-Milleret 2011). ![]() The development of sustainable agricultural management systems that deliver a range of ecosystem services would benefit from a full understanding of the impacts of soil fauna on soil properties. Overall, earthworms increased soil %WSA and WHC but the significant species/ecotype differences need to be considered in discussions of the beneficial impacts of earthworms to soil properties. terrestris likely due to the known differences in their burrow structure. However, for a given %WSA, WHC was higher for A. ![]() Linear regression indicated a consistent relationship between increases in %WSA and WHC for both earthworm species. terrestris only caused a significant increase in WHC (of 11%) in the upper 6.5 cm of the sandy loam soil. Allobophora chlorotica treatments significantly increased WHC by 7–16%. terrestris, this increase was significantly greater in the upper 6.5 cm of the soil where their casts were more obviously present. Earthworms significantly increased %WSA (by 16–56% and 19–63% relative to earthworm-free controls for L. We carried out mesocosm experiments using either the anecic earthworm Lumbricus terrestris or the endogeic earthworm Allolobophora chlorotica and loam, silt loam and sandy loam soils to investigate the differing impact of these earthworm of different ecotypes on aggregate formation (percentage water stable aggregates, %WSA) and soil water holding capacity (WHC), two soil properties that underpin many of the ecosystem services provided by soils.
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