Earthworms and soil fertility. III. The influence of earthworms on the availability of nitrogen

Abstract

When young growing worms of the species Allolobophora caliginosa (Sav.) were fed with a soil containing finely ground plant litter, about 6 per cent. of the non-available nitrogen ingested by the worms was excreted in forms available to plants. The presence of worms in cultures of well-aerated moist soil increased the rate of oxygen consumption and the rate of accumulation of ammonium and nitrate during the early stages of decay. Part of the increase in oxygen consumption was due to an interaction between the earthworms and other decomposers.