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Major survey finds worms are rare or absent in 20% of fields in England

fwi.co.uk

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Re: Major survey finds worms are rare or absent in 20% of fields in England

#41

Post by CalRobert »

ALittleLight wrote: post #39
photoguy112 wrote: post #13

Back when I was a kid, after a heavy downpour the roads would be crowded with earthworms. You really had to watch where you step to avoid stepping on one of those suckers. Fast forward today and I RARELY see a single worm out on the road after a similar downpour.

This reminds me of a passage in the book Sapiens, where the author muses that there may have been prehistoric tribes where grandparents told tales of when mammoths were so plentiful hunters would take them every month, and the grandchildren would smile and nod. The grandchildren would in turn grow up and tell their grandchildren that there were once beasts called mammoths, and these grandchildren too would smile and…

The shifting baselines problem comes up a lot; it related to fish catches

It's described more here - https://oceana.org/blog/daniel-pauly-and-george-monbiot-conv... and aptly illustrated here - https://oceana.org/sites/default/files/285468/catch_of_the_d...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shifting_baseline

Re: Major survey finds worms are rare or absent in 20% of fields in England

#43

Post by hueving »

kakarot wrote: post #27
photoguy112 wrote: post #13

Back when I was a kid, after a heavy downpour the roads would be crowded with earthworms. You really had to watch where you step to avoid stepping on one of those suckers. Fast forward today and I RARELY see a single worm out on the road after a similar downpour.

How were you a kid?

Most people start out that way.

Re: Major survey finds worms are rare or absent in 20% of fields in England

#44

Post by bayesian_horse »

CalRobert wrote: post #40

I was out digging in my field yesterday (in Ireland, not England) and thought it was interesting that there was a large variance in worm counts. Some areas had massive numbers of worms pushing 20cm, and others had relatively few, smaller ones. The bigger worms were in areas that hadn't been grazed by sheep, but I'm not sure how that relates, if at all (the sheep have been gone for a few years).

That may be about soil composition, but yes, many/most earth worms are detrivores, so the more to clean up the happier they are.

Also sampling bias.

Re: Major survey finds worms are rare or absent in 20% of fields in England

#46

Post by mads »

photoguy112 wrote: post #13

Back when I was a kid, after a heavy downpour the roads would be crowded with earthworms. You really had to watch where you step to avoid stepping on one of those suckers. Fast forward today and I RARELY see a single worm out on the road after a similar downpour.

Also did anyone notice that they don’t clean off insects off their car as often as before? Just 10 years ago, when I used to commute 170km every day in my car, I would have to clean the windshield regularly. I think I cleaned it once the last year and I even travel further today...

Re: Major survey finds worms are rare or absent in 20% of fields in England

#47

Post by Phenomenit »

r00fus wrote: post #37
yingw787 wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think I noticed this too. When I was in elementary school in the early 2000s, the stench of run-over worms was almost unbearable after rains. Worm guts everywhere. There were also bugs flying around me whenever I went outside to play. I hated it and wanted it to go away. It did.

Does it concern you? It does me.

[flagged]

Re: Major survey finds worms are rare or absent in 20% of fields in England

#48

Post by frutiger »

yingw787 wrote: post #38
r00fus wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does it concern you? It does me.

Oh yeah. Be careful with what you wish for. One day us humans might not be just dominant, we will be alone. And in that sense, I don't want us to prevail against Mother Nature; I just want a healthy balance.

Mother Nature has been around for a very long time. She will not remember us when we are gone.

Re: Major survey finds worms are rare or absent in 20% of fields in England

#49

Post by azinman2 »

mads wrote: post #46
photoguy112 wrote: post #13

Back when I was a kid, after a heavy downpour the roads would be crowded with earthworms. You really had to watch where you step to avoid stepping on one of those suckers. Fast forward today and I RARELY see a single worm out on the road after a similar downpour.

Also did anyone notice that they don’t clean off insects off their car as often as before? Just 10 years ago, when I used to commute 170km every day in my car, I would have to clean the windshield regularly. I think I cleaned it once the last year and I even travel further today...

Could the design of cars be the driving factor?

Re: Major survey finds worms are rare or absent in 20% of fields in England

#50

Post by 7952 »

randcraw wrote: post #22
fouc wrote: post #12

Probably a result of tiling the soil. Disturbing the natural ecosystem of it. And pesticides too presumably. Something like permaculture could help. Chop and drop. Mulching on the spot.

True only if tilling has increased recently. The question is, what has changed since the last time the dead fields had earthworms? That's the cause. Reversing or neutralizing that change is the cure. Let's figure out how to fix this the right way, and now , before the remaining fields die off too.

It is possible that population decreases gradually over many years, rather than in a short time frame.
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