Earthworms enhance plant regrowth in a grassland plant diversity gradient

Knowledge of the role of decomposers in the plant diversity–productivity relationship is scarce. In the framework of the Jena Experiment, we observed regrowth of grassland plant communities varying in plant species and functional group richness three weeks after mowing. We investigated earthworm subplots and subplots with reduced earthworm density in order to explore if earthworms enhance plant regrowth and if earthworm effects depend on plant diversity. Earthworms significantly enhanced each of the plant regrowth parameters (plant coverage and maximum and average height of the vegetation) suggesting that particularly fast growing species, such as grasses, benefit from earthworm activity. However, the average height of the vegetation was not affected in 16-species mixtures suggesting compensation of the impact of earthworms on plant regrowth in complex plant communities.