Earthworms are an important indicator of soil health

Earthworm droppings are rich in inorganic salts such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, which can increase soil organic matter and change the soil's good structure, as well as neutralize acidic or alkaline soils, and increase quick-acting components such as phosphorus, making the soil suitable for crop growth. If earthworms disappear from farmland, soil health indicators are poor. Because earthworms can not only make the soil loose, increase soil fertility can also change the soil good structure.

Earthworms are soil fertility transformers, an organism that symbolizes the quality of the soil, and the absence of earthworms in the farmland means that the soil is already in trouble! So have you noticed that you haven't seen earthworms in the soil for a while?

Earthworms are using the moist body wall to breathe, after heavy rain, flooding, rainwater to the soil crevices in the oxygen out of the soil, the oxygen in the soil is reduced, earthworms in the soil can not breathe, in order to breathe earthworms have to drill out of the ground. Earthworms in the soil activities, can loosen the soil, increase the oxygen in the soil, in favor of root respiration and growth.

Why we can't see earthworms in the arable land now

Since the 1950s, crop fertilization has relied mainly on chemical fertilizers. Because of our long-term focus on improving crop yield per unit area, the use of large quantities of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and insecticides, resulting in the deterioration of the physical and chemical properties of the soil, the decline in soil fertility, accelerated erosion of the topsoil, soil crusting, the deterioration of the chemical characteristics of the soil (soil acidification, salinization of the soil, the loss of soil fertility, etc.) so as to cause the earthworms in the soil to destroy the survival of the environment and thus leading to the reduction of the earthworms or extinction of earthworms, earthworms can represent the soil ecology is damaged, the soil ecosystem is damaged, the earthworms reduced! The reduction of earthworms can represent the destruction of soil ecology and the reduction of soil quality!

Soil can't live without it

Earthworms play the roles of consumers, decomposers and regulators in the ecosystem.

Earthworms break down, decompose and mix organic matter. The feeding activity of earthworms enhances the biological processes involved in the decomposition of plant residues, and earthworm manure, which is rich in readily hydrolyzable nitrogen, speeds up the mineralization of the surrounding apoplastic material.

Earthworm activity can change the spatial distribution of soil organic matter, so that the soil organic matter is patchy distribution, and organic matter and mineral soil can be mixed to form organic matter-rich soil particles.

Earthworms increase the level of available nitrogen and phosphorus in the soil. Earthworm activity increases the concentration of mineralized soil nitrogen due to the fact that earthworms consume large numbers of soil microorganisms, accelerating the mineralization and turnover of microbial tissue.

The burrowing behavior and feeding preferences of earthworms are closely related to the characteristics of soil organic phosphorus sources. Earthworm activity facilitates the downward movement of phosphorus and improves the patchy distribution of phosphorus in the soil, and at the same time, "hot spots", such as in earthworm droppings or burrows, can dramatically change the phosphorus status, such as solubility, organic phosphorus pools, and alkaline phosphatase activity.

Effects on soil physical and chemical properties

Earthworms have a very important influence on soil structure, aggregate formation, and the physical conditions required for plant growth and nutrient uptake. Earthworms affect soil structure mainly through their feces and pores, which facilitate the process of soil aggregation and allow air and water to reach the roots of plants.

Earthworm activity can also have an impact on soil pH, redox status, soil temperature and other soil conditioning factors. For example, the pH of earthworm excreta is significantly higher than that of the surrounding soil, which can play a regulatory role.

Effects on plants, microorganisms and other animals

Effects on plants: earthworms have an important effect on the available nitrogen and phosphorus in the soil, which can promote the growth of plants, and may also cause changes in the chemicals in the plant body, which in turn affects the plant's interaction with other organisms. It has a significant effect on the dispersal and burial of plant seeds, as well as on the recovery and spatial distribution of plant seedlings.

Effects on microorganisms: the total number of microorganisms decreases in soils with earthworm action, while available nutrients increase. And after passing through the earthworm gut, although the total number of microorganisms decreased, the biomass of active microorganisms increased.

Effects on other soil organisms: earthworm activity also often favors the survival of other soil fauna, such as its ability to affect the abundance and diversity of hoppers through many pathways. Earthworms can change nematode community structure in many ways, such as directly feeding on nematodes in soil and litter, or indirectly through their feces. Plant-parasitic nematodes were virtually absent from earthworm feces, but the proportion of bacterivorous nematodes was significantly higher.

Additionally: earthworm manure contains nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium were 1.4%, 1%, 1%, 46% humic acid, containing 23 kinds of amino acids, rich in vermicompost enzyme, each gram of vermicompost has 105 × 8 beneficial microorganisms (aging soil is only 105-106), and has a particle uniformity, breathable water retention, odorless hygiene, long-lasting fertilizer and other characteristics. Water content of 85% of the 20 cm thick earthworm manure in the heat of the sun for 15 days, the water content can still reach 45%, greatly enhancing the drought-resistant soil. The earthworm enzyme in vermicompost can also kill viruses, harmful bacteria and substances that inhibit plant growth in the soil. Vermicompost is an ideal natural bio-fertilizer. In addition to this, earthworms can degrade and evacuate pollutants from the soil.