Land-use History and the Occurrence of Exotic Earthworms in the Mountains of Eastern Kentucky

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Abstract
Examination of earthworm species composition on sites representing a range of land-use histories indicated that assemblages composed entirely of native taxa are the norm on areas that have not been cleared of forest or otherwise severely disturbed. The exotic taxa Octolasion tyrtaeum, Lumbricus terrestris, L. rubellus, L. castaneous and Pheretima s.l. were found on relatively small and scattered sites which had been severely disturbed (e.g. cleared, cultivated, inhabited). The genus Diplocardia dominated native assemblages on slightly disturbed sites, and generally persisted in spite of severe disturbance and the introduction of exotic taxa. In contrast, populations of Komarekiona eatoni and Eisenoides carolinensis were much reduced or eliminated by forest removal, and were apparently then replaced by exotic species. Octolasion tyrtaeum occurred both in clearings and in forests, and was the most widely distributed and frequently encountered exotic species. Octolasion tyrtaeum may directly compete with the native topsoil-inhabiting species. K. eatoni and E. carolinensis, when they co-occur on forested sites.