A new Nature publication shows how soil invertebrates influence the world beneath our feet and thus also ecosystem services worldwide.

Based on a press release from Sun Yat-senUniversity

Since the Industrial Revolution, global changes have led to a decline in biodiversity. To address these changes, it is crucial to understand what constitutes healthy ecosystems – and how to protect and build them. A new meta-analysis by an international research team, including Prof. Nico Eisenhauer from the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) and the University of Leipzig, shows that the three most important groups of invertebrates – termites, earthworms and ants – have a positive influence on soil nutrient content, soil respiration, microbial biomass and plant biomass on a global scale through their soil-improving effects. The results were published in the journal Nature.

Termites, ants and earthworms are widespread all over the world and make up a significant proportion of the invertebrates of soil invertebrates, both in number and in biomass. These ‘ecosystem engineers’ contribute to soil mixing by creating unique structures such as termite mounds, ant nests and earthworm tunnels. These alter the microenvironment and provide both food and habitats for other biological groups. Thus, they play an important role in the nutrient cycle and the preservation of biodiversity.

Over 1000 scientific articles from six continents evaluated

An international research team led by Sun-Yat-sen University in Guangzhou (China) and with the participation of iDiv’s synthesis center sDiv analyzed the soil-improving effect of the three most important groups of invertebrates in different ecosystems worldwide. To do this, they evaluated more than 1000 specialist articles from six continents.

The scientists found that all three groups of invertebrates increased plant biomass, soil microbial biomass, as well as soil respiration by improving macronutrients in the soil. Since termites prefer warmer climates, they improve soil respiration and plant biomass, especially in warmer regions; the strongest effects were seen in the tropics. Since previous studies show that global warming could drive wood decomposition by termites, this could improve net carbon sequestration in and around the structures created by termites.

From tropical to arid zones: key drivers of plant biomass and fitness

Termites and ants play an important role in increasing plant productivity by counteracting phosphorus and nitrogen limitation in tropical and temperate regions, respectively. In low-phosphorus regions,termite mounds contribute to an increase in phosphorus levels in plants and soils,thereby increasing plant biomass. Anthills, on the other hand, significantly increase the nitrogen content of plants, which also led to an increase in plant biomass, especially in nitrogen-poor areas. Prof. Nico Eisenhauer, research group leader at iDiv and co-leader of the sDiv group sOilFauna, concludes: “These results suggest that soil invertebrates make a significant contribution to natural carbon sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems.”

The new results also suggest that the effect of termites and earthworms on plant fitness may be even greater in dry conditions. In tropical rainforests, for example, higher termite activity has been observed after drought events. This has improved soil moisture, the survival rate of young plants, the decomposition rate of litter/wood and the nutrient heterogeneity of the soil compared to forests without termites. Although earthworms are less common in arid regions, their digging activity helps plant roots in arid ecosystems to absorb the limited nutrients available in deeper soil layers.

The researchers emphasise that the three groups of invertebrates studied contribute to more nutrient-rich zones for plants and soil microorganisms. Since environmental factors influence many of the soil-improving effects of termites, ants and earthworms, environmental changes could also have an impact on the ecosystem functions and biochemical cycles that invertebrates help to shape. “We know that global climate change with its extreme events and the intensification of land use threaten ants, earthworms and termites. It is time to acknowledge their importance for the functioning of ecosystems and to protect them accordingly,” says NicoEisenhauer.

This study was funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG; FZT-118). It is the result of an international cooperation in which members of the sDiv working group sOilFauna were also involved. iDiv’s synthesis centre sDiv finances working group meetings at which researchers from all over the world work together on scientific questions.

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iDiv is a research center of the German Research Foundation (DFG).
iDiv is a central institution of the University of Leipzig within the meaning of § 92 para. 1 SächsHSFG and is operated together with the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg and the Friedrich Schiller University Jena as well as in cooperation with the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research GmbH – UFZ.

Participating cooperation partners are the following non-university research institutions: the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research GmbH – UFZ, the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry (MPI BGC), the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology (MPI CE), the Max Planck Institute for Revolutionary Anthropology (MPI EVA), the Leibniz Institute German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures (DSMZ), the Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry (IPB), the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK) and the Leibniz Institute Senckenberg Museum of Natural History Görlitz (SMNG).
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Original publication
Donghao Wu, Enzai Du, Nico Eisenhauer, Jérome Mathieu & Chengjin Chu
Journal: Nature
Article Title: Global engineering effects of soil invertebrates on ecosystem functions
Article Publication Date: 12 February 2025
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-08594-y

Contact:
Prof. Dr. Nico Eisenhauer
(speaks German and English)
Head of the Research Group Experimental Interaction Ecology
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig
University of Leipzig
Phone: +49 341 97 33167
E-mail: nico.eisenhauer@idiv.de

Kati Kietzmann
Media & Communications Department
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig
Phone: +49 341 9739222
E-Mail: kati.kietzmann@idiv.de