The Biological Role of Earthworms in Soil Fertility - Worm Composting By James W Shaw

Worm composting is the perfect way if you want to have a bountiful paradise garden. Earthworms or night crawlers, as some may call them, are considered "a farmer's friend" all over the world. They are under the invertebrate category, but taxonomically, they fall under Phylum Annelida, class Oligochaeta and under the order of Opisthophora. The importance of worm composting or worm casting has been studied by many scientists all over the world in full detail. Their research has shown that relatively, worms play a vital role in improving soil fertility. In line with that, researchers have enumerated four thousand species of worms, each with a unique biological, physical and behavioral trait that can be beneficial for both worm casting and as worm compost.

Earthworm Classifications for Worm Composting

The earthworm used for worm composting is usually classified under tropic and habitat lines. Tropic class divides these worms into three categories: geophagous, phyto-geophagous and phyto-phagous. On the other hand, the habitat line also has three sub-categories: endogeic, epigeic and the anecic category. Using them as worm compost, you can find that both systems of categorization or classification overlap each other. For example, epigeics are deemed phytopagous - they are represented by the Perionyx Excavatus (oriental), Edrilus Euginiae (African) and Eisenia Foetida. All these mentioned live and feed on decaying animal parts and decaying plants. The epigeic type builds itself no permanent burrow and prefers loose, top most layer of the soil that is rich in organic matter. These are just some examples of species in which you can use for producing worm compost. All categories are proven beneficial.

Soil Fertility and Worm Composting

All the categories mentioned above are perfect for worm composting or in soil fertility, in general. Each and every one of them plays different or same roles. The contributions that these worms provide ultimately come in their fecal matter, which is also referred to as worm casting. Another thing that makes worm compost a perfect soil fertilizer is because of their extrusion or secretion as both are considered eteroneprhic and exonepheric. The worm's gut is known as bioreactor wherein idyllic conditions of pH, temperature and moisture level provide multiple desired aerobic bacteria strains, and the undesired anaerobic strains of bacteria are digested. All in all, the contribution of worm composting in soil fertility is seen in effect of the fungal and bacterial biomass that they excrete in the soil. This type of effect, as most researchers say, takes nature about a hundred or so years before it can be achieved, but takes only a mere year for worms to accomplish! With that, using a worm composting means that you only need minimal care for the fertility of your soil, as long as you take proper care of your worms.

Worm composts also provides your soil with its much needed nitrogen as exemplified in the nitrifying bacteria such as Azospirillum, PSB or Phosphate Solublising Phospholube Bacteria and Azotobactor, which are all known to be aerobics. The micro flora of your soil also improves with worm composting; it becomes more complex as compared to mixing it with daintily-grounded organic materials and microorganisms. A worm composting gives you 3x concentrations of transferable Mg, 7x of readily available P and 11x of K as compared to 150mm soil.

James Shaw is an organic gardener and a worm farm enthusiast. Save money and go green by raising Red Wigglers through worm composting.

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