interest of the fine routes through which trees absorb water and nutrients forestry engineer daniel berlant has compared the volume of fine roots from spruce and maple the difference is considerable these 2 clumps come from a maple tree at a depth of $10.40 centimeters while these 2 are from a spruce. the more fine roots the tree has the more water it can access. but the scientists also find another difference between the 2 forests the one with deciduous trees as lots of earthworms which help to keep the soil rich and healthy . agricultural scientists on a curler wants to measure the population of earthworms in this mixed forest. as mustard water onto a sample of soil among the deciduous trees drives the worms to the surface as they try to escape the mustard irritates their skin though it's actually not harmful here we see how plentiful the worms are. organic farming has focused our attention in recent years on the role earthworms play in improving soil fertility there's been less interest in their role and forests but it is an interesting question. because where the soil is in good shape t