Earthworms Harming New England?

Before we add earthworms to the list of all things great like fluoride, exercise, and Ghandi, some scientists say that earthworms are changing the ecosystem as part of a 350-year-old invasion that creeps along at a half-mile per year. Apparently, earthworms are not native to New England, as all worms east and north of New Jersey were wiped out by glaciers during the last ice age about 10,000 years ago.

Although they do aerate the soil, according to the Boston Globe, "they can munch through the duff layer and can leave behind a homogenized hard soil layer in as little as three years. Invasive plants such as barberry and buckthorn can move in more easily, and erosion can increase. Scientists also say the worms change the chemical structure of the soil, and they are studying whether trees like sugar maples get fewer nutrients in regions colonized with the worms."

Hmmm. Maybe I should heap composting alongside of clubbing baby seals.

Read the full story here.

UPDATE: Apparently, the hardwood forests of Minnesota have similar issues with the earthworm as witnessed by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resource's "Contain those Crawlers" campaign.