"Contrasting effects of cover crops on earthworms: Results from field monitoring and laboratory experiments on growth, reproduction and food choice"
Euteneuer et al. 2020 'Contrasting effects of cover crops on earthworms: Results from field monitoring and laboratory experiments on growth, reproduction and food choice'
is recently among the most downloaded papers in the European Journal of Soil Biology.
The paper determines the dependency of earthworms on field management and shows interactions of cover crops and earthworms regarding plant biomass, plant C:N ratio and soil moisture.
Laboratory experiments cover all life stages of two earthworm species and reveal requirements of earthworm growth and reproduction. The findings elucidate earthworm priorities
with soil moisture over food, cover crops over bare fallow and low plant C:N ratio over high plant C:N ratio, but in general a balanced cover crop mixture is recommended.
Here is the open access paper:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1164556320302958