This proposal summarizes a project that will develop models to forecast how land management practices and extreme weather will impact earthworm populations, soil functions, and ecosystem services. The proposal will: 1) Develop an individual-based earthworm model interfaced with a soil profile model to simulate earthworm biomass, density, and burrowing under different conditions. 2) Input land use, climate, soil properties, and other data to model outputs like soil organic matter, aggregation, and water flow. 3) Validate the models and use literature research linking earthworms to soil functions like decomposition, nutrient cycling, and water regulation, which support ecosystem services.

1. Molecular Metrics for Assessing the
Status of Peatlands (MMASP)
Dr Nicholle G. A. Bell
Soil Security Fellow
School of Chemistry,
University of Edinburgh
Photo by: Eleanor Bentall/RSPB
Soil Security Programme Annual Conference, Reading, 2016

2. Background and reasoning for the projectMolecular Metrics for Assessing the Status of Peatlands
Background
Peatlands are vital to many
ecosystem services
80% of UK peatlands are damaged
2020 Million Hectare
Challenge/Peatland CodeRestoration: rewetting 
vegetation reappearance  C sink
Is our restoration efforts are
working?
m/z
1H (Aromatic)
13C
(13CH3)
1H
(13CH3)
13C/ppm
Aliphatic
Sugars
Aromatic
Carboxylic
MMASP
Restore
d
Damaged
Restoration
Process
Millions of £ invested to restore
peatlands
LIQUID-STATE NMR
FT ICR MS
MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS
BULK MEASUREMENTS
SITES & EXPERTISE
PEAT SAMPLE ANALYSIS
DAMAGED RESTORED
SOLID-STATE NMR

3. Rothamsted Research
where knowledge grows
Rothamsted Research
where knowledge grows
Dr Jackie Stroud
Sustainable Soils and Grassland
Systems Department
Without
earthworms
agriculture would
be difficult, if not
impossible
Charles Darwin, 1881

4. Forecasting land management and extreme weather
effects on earthworm populations, soil function
and ecosystem services
Dr Alice S.A. Johnston

5. Overview
Ecosyste
m
services
Soil
functio
ns
Ecosystem
engineers
Extreme
weather
Land
managemen
t
Figure adapted from Brown
(2000)

6. Vertical
burrowers
(anecic)
Horizontal
burrowers
(endogeic)
Decomposition
Surface
dwellers
(epigeic)
Nutrient cycling
Soil pore
creation
Soil aggregate
formation
Water recycling
and
detoxification
Water flow
regulation
Carbon and
nutrient
regulation
Soil structure
and
maintenance
Earthworms Soil functions Ecosystem services
Proposal summary

7. Proposal summary
Vertical
burrowers
(anecic)
Horizontal
burrowers
(endogeic)
Surface
dwellers
(epigeic)
Earthworms
Model validation
Johnston et al. (2015)
Energy budget model
Individual-based model (IBM) interface
Soildepth

8. Proposal summary
Vertical
burrowers
(anecic)
Horizontal
burrowers
(endogeic)
Decomposition
Surface
dwellers
(epigeic)
Nutrient cycling
Soil pore
creation
Soil aggregate
formation
Earthworms Soil functions
breakdown of litter & OM
incorporation of litter in soil
stimulation of microbes
release of nitrogen in casts
nutrient transformation
stimulation of microbes
deep vertical burrows
horizontal burrow
networks
excreted mucus
modification of soil in
casts

9. Proposal summary
Model inputs:
Soil texture
Soil water content
Soil temperature
SOM
Bulk density
C/N/P
Vegetation type
Land management
Model outputs:
Earthworm niche
Earthworm biomass
Earthworm density
Burrow location
Cast formation
SOM
Macroaggregates
Bulk density
Water infiltration rate
Microbial biomass
C/N/P
Soil map, European Soil Bureau

10. Proposal summary
Decomposition
Nutrient cycling
Soil pore
creation
Soil aggregate
formation
Water recycling
and
detoxification
Water flow
regulation
Carbon and
nutrient
regulation
Soil structure
and
maintenance
Soil functions Ecosystem services
Spurgeon et al. (2013)
Waterinfiltrationrate
(mm/h)
Don et al. (2008)
Carbon and nutrient
regulation
Water flow
regulation
Soildepth(mm)
C stock change due to earthworms (g/m2) Earthworm abundance (n/m2)
Soil structure and
maintenance
Alegre et al. (1996)
Bulkdensity(mg/m3)
Time (months)

11. Forecasting land management and extreme weather
effects on earthworm populations, soil function
and ecosystem services
Dr Alice S.A. Johnston

12. NERC Soil KE Fellowship emphasis, Data and Apps
OUTCOME - IMPACT
NERC digital platforms become the defacto tools for the
dissemination of NERC soil science data and crowdsourcing of soil
data for industry, society and other stakeholders, in the UK,
Europe and potentially beyond, raising the public awareness of
soils.
New knowledge embedded at JRC, ONS, Defra – NC accounting
KE
IDENTIFY STAKEHOLDERS
SURVEY
GET NERC TOOLS & DATA INTO
GLOBAL SOIL MAPPING INITITIVES
ISRIC & EU JRC
ECOSYSTEM ACCOUNTING
POLICY INDICATORS
ONS, Defra, WG, JRC, NERC
NERC
Institutes
NERC
Swindon
Partners
KE KE
DATA APPS
UK Soil Observatory
Free to view soil information
Crowdsourcing platform
mySoil
Data dissemination
Crowdsourcing
David A. Robinson
CEH