Why are Earthworms Important for Soil Fertility and Sustaining Agriculture?
Earthworms play an important role in the creation of healthy, productive, “living” soils. Basically, earthworm feeding and burrowing activities incorporate organic residues and amendements into the soil, enhancing decomposition, humus formation, nutrient cycling, and soil structure development. Earthworm burrows persist as macropores which provide low resistance channels for root growth, water infiltration, and gas exhcange.1 The major benefits can be summarized into the following three major categories: Biological: The earthworm is essential to composting. They feed on organic matter and convert it into rich humus, a medium vital to the growth of healthy plants. This is achieved by the worm’s actions of pulling down below, any organic matter deposited on the soil surface (e.g., leaves, manure, etc.) either for food or when it needs to plug its burrow. Once in the burrow, the worm will shred the leaf and partially digest it, then deposit their castings. Worm castings contain high conce