One characteristic of forested environments is macroporosity and soil structure created by burrowing animals. We
examined the generation of macroporosity by earthworms in
forests of eastern Puerto Rico. Eastern Puerto Rico represents
an excellent setting for such an experiment because it hosts
fewer types of burrowing organisms than mainland tropical forests, where burrowing mammals, leaf-cutter ants, and
cicadas are common. Earthworms at the Puerto Rico site can
easily be excluded using electroshock techniques.