Chapter 19
Earthworm Communities and Soil
Structural Properties
Sharanpreet Singh, Jaswinder Singh, Adarsh Pal Vig, Falwinder Verma,
and Surindra Suthar
Abstract Earthworms are the important soil organism belonging to phylum
Annelida and class Oligochaeta. They are also known as ecosystem engineers for
their important role in influencing the physical, chemical and biological properties of
the soil. Earthworms stimulate microbial activity, mix and aggregate the soil, water
infiltration rate, soil water content and water-holding capacity, etc. They also
increase litter decomposition, soil organic matter dynamics, nutrient cycles, promote
plant growth and reduce some soil-borne diseases. On the other hand, soil properties
like organic matter, pH, EC, temperature, soil texture, etc., also plays a crucial role in
earthworm abundance in the soil. In this chapter, an attempt has been made to
highlight the earthworm communities and their dependence on soil physicochemical properties.
Keywords Earthworm · Soil properties · Microbial activity · Physico-chemical
characteristics
S. Singh · A. P. Vig
Department of Botanical and Environmental Sciences, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar,
India
J. Singh (*)
Department of Zoology, Khalsa College Amritsar, Amritsar, India
F. Verma
I.K. Gujral Punjab Technical University, Jalandhar, India
S. Suthar
School of Environment and Natural Resources, Doon University, Dehradun, India
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to
Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020
S. A. Bhat et al. (eds.), Earthworm Assisted Remediation of Effluents and Wastes,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-4522-1_19
333
Earthworm Communities and Soil
Structural Properties
Sharanpreet Singh, Jaswinder Singh, Adarsh Pal Vig, Falwinder Verma,
and Surindra Suthar
Abstract Earthworms are the important soil organism belonging to phylum
Annelida and class Oligochaeta. They are also known as ecosystem engineers for
their important role in influencing the physical, chemical and biological properties of
the soil. Earthworms stimulate microbial activity, mix and aggregate the soil, water
infiltration rate, soil water content and water-holding capacity, etc. They also
increase litter decomposition, soil organic matter dynamics, nutrient cycles, promote
plant growth and reduce some soil-borne diseases. On the other hand, soil properties
like organic matter, pH, EC, temperature, soil texture, etc., also plays a crucial role in
earthworm abundance in the soil. In this chapter, an attempt has been made to
highlight the earthworm communities and their dependence on soil physicochemical properties.
Keywords Earthworm · Soil properties · Microbial activity · Physico-chemical
characteristics
S. Singh · A. P. Vig
Department of Botanical and Environmental Sciences, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar,
India
J. Singh (*)
Department of Zoology, Khalsa College Amritsar, Amritsar, India
F. Verma
I.K. Gujral Punjab Technical University, Jalandhar, India
S. Suthar
School of Environment and Natural Resources, Doon University, Dehradun, India
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to
Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020
S. A. Bhat et al. (eds.), Earthworm Assisted Remediation of Effluents and Wastes,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-4522-1_19
333