Earthworms in grass lawns and native Atlantic Forest fragments at Embrapa Forestry, Colombo, Paraná state, Brazil.

Earthworms are important soil biological indicators, but there is relatively little information on their communities in peri-urban soils and land uses in the subtropics. In the present paper, we describe earthworm occurrence and relationships with soil biological, chemical and physical attributes in grass lawns and native Atlantic Forest fragments in the Curitiba metropolitan area, using different sampling methods: quantitative handsorting, formalin extraction and qualitative sampling. Overall, 785 individuals, of six families and 12 species were found, four of which were native (Glossoscolex embrapaensis, Fimoscolex nivae, Urobenus brasiliensis and Ocnerodrilidae sp.

Earthworm species in different land use systems in the state of Goiás and the Federal District of Brazil.

The state of Goiás and the Federal District together cover an area of about 346 thousand km2, including the diversified Cerrado vegetation, also known as the Brazilian Savanna, a biodiversity hotspot with many endangered and endemic species. Much of the Cerrado has been converted to agriculture, but little is known of its earthworms, and the impacts of land use management and agricultural practices on their density and diversity. In the present paper we review the known earthworm species in Goiás and the Federal District based on historical and museum records, and update information on their distribution and populations in different counties and land use systems with data from recent samplings.