Abstract
The contribution of earthworms to soil fertility through their burrowing and feeding activities was recognised by Gilbert White as long ago as 178918. In 1881 Charles Darwin2 showed that earthworms play an important part in the disappearance of surface plant litter and its breakdown and incorporation into the soil. More recent work on earthworm ecology has shown the precise importance of earthworms in the cycling of organic matter in terrestrial ecosystems.
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Hand, P. (1988). Earthworm Biotechnology (Vermicomposting). In: Greenshields, R. (eds) Resources and Applications of Biotechnology. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-09574-2_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-09574-2_5
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