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Role of Earthworm in Improving Soil Structure and Functioning


Affiliations
1 Centre for Environment Science and Climate Resilient Agriculture, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi-110 012, India
2 Division of Agricultural Physics, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi-110 012, India
 

Earthworms commonly occur within the soil. They alter physico-chemical and biological regimes of the soil through their activities, such as burrowing, casting, feeding and propagating, and therefore are known as 'ecosystem engineers'. Through their activities, they provide a number of ecosystem services which are ecologically and socio-economically important. This article reviews the role of earthworms in improving soil structural and functional properties, which serves as key determinants of soil ecosystem services and economic benefits for the farmers. A methodology of economic evaluation of the agro-ecosystem services provided by earthworms has been demonstrated. Further, the information gaps and future research have been discussed for ensuring sustainable agroecosystems management.

Keywords

Earthworm, Economic Evaluation, Soil Ecosystem Services, Soil Aggregation, Sustainable Agriculture.
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  • Role of Earthworm in Improving Soil Structure and Functioning

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Authors

D. K. Sharma
Centre for Environment Science and Climate Resilient Agriculture, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi-110 012, India
S. Tomar
Centre for Environment Science and Climate Resilient Agriculture, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi-110 012, India
D. Chakraborty
Division of Agricultural Physics, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi-110 012, India

Abstract


Earthworms commonly occur within the soil. They alter physico-chemical and biological regimes of the soil through their activities, such as burrowing, casting, feeding and propagating, and therefore are known as 'ecosystem engineers'. Through their activities, they provide a number of ecosystem services which are ecologically and socio-economically important. This article reviews the role of earthworms in improving soil structural and functional properties, which serves as key determinants of soil ecosystem services and economic benefits for the farmers. A methodology of economic evaluation of the agro-ecosystem services provided by earthworms has been demonstrated. Further, the information gaps and future research have been discussed for ensuring sustainable agroecosystems management.

Keywords


Earthworm, Economic Evaluation, Soil Ecosystem Services, Soil Aggregation, Sustainable Agriculture.

References





DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs%2Fv113%2Fi06%2F1064-1071