Baselines are the pebbles in the shoes of isotope ecologists. The extreme variability of the isotope composition of resources at the base of food webs governs the spatial differences of consumers'...

Research Professor – FNRS / UCLouvain

Si la guerre venait à débarrasser la Terre de l'espèce humaine, les insectes prendraient-ils notre place ? C’est à cet exercice de biologie spéculative que se sont livrés Lucas Etienne et Jean-Sébasti...

Soil biodiversity, particularly earthworms, plays a crucial role in ecosystem functions and services but remains largely understudied in urban environments. In this context, we conducted a synthesis analysis of 41 studies from urban environments (726 records, 1995–2024) to (1) describe patterns of earthworm communities, (2) identify the main drivers shaping urban earthworm communities, focusing on the effects of climate, degree of urbanization, soil properties, and local land use, with the expectation that climate would be the strongest driver, and (3) assess the occurrence of exotic earthworm species. Urban earthworm communities showed considerable variation in their abundance, biomass and species richness. Within our dataset, exotic species were detected in North America, South America, and Asia, but no records from European and African cities, despite their known presence there. However, there was a strong geographical bias, with 75% of records from Europe. Our results reveal that at the global scale, elevation, and annual variation in temperature and potential evapotranspiration are the most important predictors shaping total earthworm abundance. For total earthworm biomass, variation in potential evapotranspiration is the key predictor. At the plot scale, we found both positive and negative correlations between earthworm community metrics, soil properties, and specific land uses, namely urban forests and grasslands. We recommend additional standardised sampling, broader geographical and temporal coverage, and the investigation of urban-specific direct and indirect stressors, as crucial steps for understanding urban soil biodiversity and promoting beneficial management practices. Overall, this analysis indicates that urbanisation intensity showed no consistent effects on earthworm communities once climate and soil variables were accounted for. Given the importance of climate impacts, mitigation of climate change effects would be valuable for the maintenance of earthworm communities.

La théorie de l’évolution a fait ses premiers pas sur une île – et ce n’est pas un hasard. En 1835, lors de son voyage aux Galápagos, Charles Darwin observe des pinsons avec attention. Ce sont les dif...

La théorie de l’évolution a fait ses premiers pas sur une île – et ce n’est pas un hasard. En 1835, lors de son voyage aux Galápagos, Charles Darwin observe des pinsons avec attention. Ce sont les dif...

Programme phare de la FRB, le Cesab (CEntre de Synthèse et d’Analyse sur la Biodiversité) est une structure de recherche leader en Europe, au rayonnement international. Son objectif est de mettre en…

Créée en 2008, la FRB recherche régulièrement de nouveaux collaborateurs. Elle constitue un point de convergence entre la science et la société, autour des défis que doit aujourd’hui relever la recher...