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Xenobiotics in the Soil Environment pp 73–88Cite as

Use of Earthworms in Biomonitoring of Soil Xenobiotics

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Part of the book series: Soil Biology ((SOILBIOL,volume 49))

Abstract

Assessment of soil health and contamination of terrestrial ecosystems by xenobiotics exposure is of paramount importance due to specific contaminant dynamics and bioavailability. Owing to their peculiar morphological characteristics and ecological importance, earthworms are considered important biomonitoring organisms to give the accurate and early warning clues about soil quality assessments. They are important part of soil biomass and are called as “soil engineers” regulating various soil processes including fertilization, organic matter decomposition, and soil quality maintenance. Ecological importance, ease in handling, sampling, identification, and analysis make them good bioindicators for monitoring programs. Earthworms can be used as reaction as well as accumulation bioindicators; however, in both cases, environmental factors may alter their efficacy. The biochemical fluids and blood of these organisms provide novel, sensitive, and nondestructive biomarkers for xenobiotics monitoring. The granulocyte morphometric alteration can be exploited as suitable biomarker of effect that could be included in a multibiomarker strategy. Metallothioneins, acetylcholinesterase, hemoglobin oxidation, as well as other cellular and genotoxic biomarkers of earthworms are frequently employed as indication of exposure and effect of xenobiotics in polluted soil environments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Sciences, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, 60800, Pakistan

    Muhammad Dawood, Abdul Wahid & Sidra Mukhtar

  2. Atmospheric Chemistry Division, Department of Meteorology, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology Islamabad, Islamabad, Pakistan

    Muhammad Zaffar Hashmi

  3. University College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur, Pakistan

    Zaffar Malik

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  1. Muhammad Dawood
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  2. Abdul Wahid
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  3. Muhammad Zaffar Hashmi
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  4. Sidra Mukhtar
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  5. Zaffar Malik
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Correspondence to Muhammad Dawood .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Meteorology, COMSATS Inst. of Information Technology Department of Meteorology, Islamabad, Pakistan

    Muhammad Zaffar Hashmi

  2. Amity Inst of Microbial Technology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh Amity Inst of Microbial Technology, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Vivek Kumar

  3. Amity Inst of Microbial Technology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh Amity Inst of Microbial Technology, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Ajit Varma

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Dawood, M., Wahid, A., Hashmi, M.Z., Mukhtar, S., Malik, Z. (2017). Use of Earthworms in Biomonitoring of Soil Xenobiotics. In: Hashmi, M., Kumar, V., Varma, A. (eds) Xenobiotics in the Soil Environment. Soil Biology, vol 49. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47744-2_6

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