ISSN 2029-9230 111 2012, Vol. 18, No. 1 (34) Introduction Wooded meadows are traditional semi-natural meadows in the region around the Baltic Sea belong- ing to Natura 2000 habitat type 6530 (Fennoscandian wooded meadows). They covered a third of Estonias territory (total area: 850,000 ha) until the mid-20 th cen- tury but have since almost disappeared (total area: 700 ha) due to fundamental changes in land management  mostly the cessation of hand- or horse-mowing. These ecosystems are characterized by: 1) their old age, i.e. regular mowing has occurred periodically over several centuries; 2) calcareous soils with a neutral pH; 3) an absence of (intensive) grazing; 4) their large size (more than tens of hectares); 5) the presence of more moist or wet patches; and 6) high tree and plant diversity (Kukk and Kull 1997). Typical deciduous trees and several shrub species are distributed in small, ir- regular patches with tree canopy coverage usually in the range of 0.1-0.5; this differs significantly between meadows and within single meadows. They are mowed Earthworm Communities in Soils of Estonian Wooded Meadows MARI IVASK 1* , ANNELY KUU 1 , MARIKA TRUU 2 , SANDER KUTTI 1 , MART MERISTE 1 AND JANE PEDA 1 1 Tartu College of Tallinn University of Technology, Puiestee 78, 51008 Tartu, Estonia 2 Institute of Geography of the University of Tartu, Vanemuise 46, 51014 Tartu, Estonia *Corresponding author: Mari Ivask, Tartu College of Tallinn University of Technology, Puiestee 78, 51008 Tartu, Estonia, mari.ivask@ttu.ee, Phone +372 604 809, Fax +372 604 801 Ivask, M., Kuu, A., Truu, M., Kutti, S., Meriste, M. and Peda, J. 2012. Earthworm Communities in Soils of Estonian Wooded Meadows. Baltic Forestry 18(1): 111118. Abstract Wooded meadows are traditional semi-natural meadows in the region around the Baltic Sea. They are mowed regularly once per year, and some meadows are lightly grazed by sheep or cattle in late summer after mowing. Data on soil fauna in wooded meadows are still scarce in spite of their importance to ecosystem functioning. The aim of this study was to describe the taxonomic and ecological structure of earthworm communities in relation to the chemical and microbiological characteristics of the soil and meadow restoration conditions in Estonian wooded meadows. The chemical and microbiological parameters of the soil were studied so as to characterize the habitat of the earthworms. Earthworms were collected using a mustard solution as vermifuge. In total, the earthworm communities of wooded meadows consisted of eight species. The most abundant species were the endogeic Aporrectodea caliginosa and Aporrectodea rosea . The dominant epigeic species was Lumbricus rubellus in meadows with higher soil moisture and Dendrobaena octaedra in a dry meadow. In wooded meadows, richness of plant species and diversity in earthworm communities have developed in calcareous soil conditions. Different layers of plant cover create several different microhabitats for soil invertebrates including earthworms, thus promoting diversity. The taxonomic composition of communities depends on soil conditions; mostly on soil moisture. The restored wooded meadows differ significantly from the long-term managed meadows by the ecological structure of the earthworm communities: in mowed meadows the community consists of more endogeic and fewer epigeic species compared to the restored meadows. Key words: wooded meadows, earthworms, microbial community, diversity, restoration regularly (once per year) and some are lightly grazed by sheep or cattle in late summer after mowing. In calcareous wooded meadows there are commonly over 50 plant species per square metre, which is much more than in any other community in the temperate forest zone (Kukk and Kull 1997, Kull and Zobel 1991, Lu- hamaa et al. 2001). The large species pool reflects the large niche diversity (in terms of light, moisture and nutrient availability) within the meadows. The number of annual species is very low and vegetative repro- duction dominates (Kukk and Kull 1997). The plant species richness and plant productivi- ty of semi-natural meadows have been rather well stud- ied and documented, and many authors have discov- ered that extensive management of meadows is the most important human factor in maintaining species richness (Myklestad and Saetersdal 2004, Niinemets and Kull 2005, Bratli et al. 2006, Van Uytvanck et al. 2008). Data on soil fauna in wooded meadows remain scarce in spite of their importance to ecosystem func- tioning (de Goede and Brussaard 2002). Soil microor- M. IVASK ET AL. BALTIC FORESTRY EARTHWORM COMMUNITIES IN SOILS OF ESTONIAN WOODED MEADOWS