Wood ash application at rates of 1 and 5 t ha-1 in a Scots pine stand in central Finland decreased numbers of the enchytraeid worm Cognettia sphagnetorum, and slightly changed the soil microarthropod community. Soil chemical parameters were also influenced by these treatments, whereas microbial communities were only affected by the higher ash concentration (Haimi et al. 2000). Enchytraeid size and abundance were found to be reduced in microcosms containing 30 g humus from a Norway spruce forest and amended with 480 mg wood ash, but the negative effect could be offset by sucrose, indicating that the impact of wood ash on soil animals in forest ecosystems is mainly linked to C input rates. Negative effects may thus be avoided by minimising C limitations for decomposers (Nieminen 2008; see Chap. 4, Nieminen 2011).