Technique of Earthworms Restoring Soil in Greenhouse Cultivation

The production environment of greenhouse cultivation is relatively closed,the multiple cropping index is high,the management of fertilizationwatering and pesticideapplication isblindtosomeextent,andthe phenomenonofcontinuous cropping isalsocommonSoilquali-ty affects the sustainable development of greenhouse cultivation.Earthworm is a ubiquitous invertebrate organism in soil,an important part of soil system,a link between terrestrial organisms and soil organisms,an important link in the small cycle of soil material organisms,and plays an important role in maintaining the structure and function of soil ecosystem.Different ecotypes of earthworms are closely related to their habi-tats(soil layers)and food resource preferences,and then affect their ecological functions.The principle of earthworm regulating soil function is essentially the close connection and interaction between earthworm and soil microorganism.Using different ecotypes of earthworms and bio-logical agents to carry out combined remediation of greenhouse cultivation soil is a technical model to realize sustainable development of green-house cultivation.

Earthworms: Charles Darwin’s ‘Unheralded Soldiers of Mankind’: Protective &Productive for Man &Environment

Earthworms promises to provide cheaper solutions to several social, economic and environmental problems plaguing the human society. Earthworms can safely manage all municipal and industrial organic wastes including sewage sludge and divert them from ending up in the landfills. Their body work as a ‘biofilter’ and they can ‘purify’ and also ‘disinfect’ and ‘detoxify’ municipal and several industrial wastewater. They reduce the BOD & COD loads and the TDSS of wastewater significantly. They can even remove the EDCs (endocrine disrupting chemicals) from sewage which is not removed by the conventional sewage treatments plants. Earthworms can bio-accumulate and bio-transform many chemical contaminants including heavy metals and organic pollutants in soil and clean-up the contaminated lands for re-development. Earthworms restore & improve soil fertility by their secretions (growth hormones) and excreta (vermicast with beneficial soil microbes) & boost ‘crop productivity’. They have potential to replace the environmentally destructive chemical fertilizers from farm production. The ‘protein rich’ earthworm biomass is being used for production of ‘nutritive feed materials’ for fishery, dairy & poultry industries. They are also being used as ‘raw materials’ for rubber, lubricant and detergent industries. The bioactive compounds isolated from earthworms are finding new uses in production of ‘life saving medicines’ for cardiovascular diseases and cancer cure.

Earthworms' Transcriptome and Gut Microbiota Response to Mineral Weathering

1 Introduction Earthworms are an important component of soil macrofauna,dominating the biomass of soil invertebrates(Kodama et al.,2014;Plum and Filser,2005).They are known as the"engineers of ecosystem",and have a

Response of Nitrous Oxide Flux to Addition of Anecic Earthworms to an Agricultural Field

The burrowing and feeding activities of earthworms may have a strong effect on the flux of N2O from agricultural soils. As such, shifts to agricultural management practices that increase the number of earthworms require an understanding of the role of earthworms in N2O dynamics. We conducted a field experiment to examine the effects of addition of anecic earthworms (Lumbricus terrestris) on N2O flux in a field previously planted with corn (Zea mays) in southern Rhode Island, USA. Plots were amended with (15NH4)2SO4 and either 0 (CTL) or 48 L. terrestris m-2 (EW). The flux of N2O, 15N2O and 15N2 was measured over 28 days between October and November 2008. The EW treatment had a significantly higher flux of N2O and 15N2O 1 - 3 days after 15NH4 addition. No treatment effects were observed on 15N2 flux. The addition of earthworms significantly increased (Day 1) and decreased (Day 12) the mole fraction of N2O relative to the CTL. Our results suggest that anecic earthworm additions can increase N2O flux from inorganic fertilizer N amendments, but the effects appear to short-lived.

Interaction between Earthworms and Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi in Plants:A Review

Different kinds of soil animals and microorganisms inhabit the plant rhizosphere,which function closely to plant roots.Of them,arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi(AMF)and earthworms play a critical role in sustaining the soilplant health.Earthworms and AMF belong to the soil community and are soil beneficial organisms at different trophic levels.Both of them improve soil fertility and structural development,collectively promoting plant growth and nutrient acquisition capacity.Earthworm activities redistribute mycorrhizal fungi spores and give diversified effects on root mycorrhizal fungal colonization.Dual inoculation with both earthworms and AMF strongly magnifies the response on plant growth through increased soil enzyme activities and changes in soil nutrient availability,collectively mitigating the negative effects of heavy metal pollution in plants and soils.This thus enhances phytoremediation and plant disease resistance.This review simply outlines the effects of earthworms and AMF on the soil-plant relationship.The effects of earthworms on root AMF colonization and activities are also analyzed.This paper also summarizes the interaction between earthworms and AMF on plants along with suggested future research.

Effects of Cu Contamination on GSH- Px( Glutathione Peroxidase) Activity of Earthworms( Eisenia fetida ) in Soils

[ Objective] This study aimed to investigate the effects of Cu contamination in soils on GSH-Px （ glutathione peroxidase） activity of earthworms （ Eisenia fetida）. [ Method ] By artificial soil contamination method, changes in GSH-Px activity of earthworms under different Cu concentrations were investigated [ Result ] In the early exposure period, low-concentration Cu stress activated GSH-Px activity of earthworms to a certain extent; with the extension of extxqsure time and increase of Cu concentration, GSH-Px activity of earthworms showed a decreasing trend; however, under high-concentration Cu stress, there was no remarkable reg- ularity in the reduction of GSH-Px activity of earthworms. [ Conclusion] This study laid a solid foundation for further revealing the synergistic mechanism of antioxidant enzymes of earthworms.

Earthworms: A Source of Protein

Earthworms are important invertebrates that have been widely used as food and traditional medicine sources for thousands of years. Not only have researchers proven that earthworms are rich in proteins and other nutrients, they have also taken a keener interest in their unique pharmaceutical properties. Recent research has successfully discovered some beneficial functional components of earthworms due to the rapid development of biological technologies in the past decades. Therefore, earthworms could be a novel dietary supplement for human consumption. This review aims to summarize the current research about nutritional and therapeutic values of earthworms;and present a matured earthworm-derived product from Bocom Pharmaceuticals (USA) Corp as an example of its incorporation into a dietary supplement.

Effect of arsenite on the proteome of earthworms Eisenia fetida

Arsenic(As)is broadly distributed due to natural and anthropogenic sources,and it is toxic to organisms.This study aimed to investigate the proteomic response in earthworm exposed to As^(3+).Earthworms were exposed to As^(3+)in soil at 5-80 mg kg1,and samples were collected after 60 days exposure.Two-dimensional electrophoresis(2-DE)was used to separate the proteins in earthworm homogenate,then differentially expressed proteins(DEPs)were identified using MALDI-TOF/TOF-MS analysis.After 2-DE,36 DEPs were found and 24 of them were successfully identified.79.2%of DEPs were upregulated compared to the control group.The maximum fold change reached 53.8 in spot 3108 in the 80 mg kg^(-1)As group.Two proteins were not found in the control group but found in the As treated groups.Proteins were grouped into metabolism,signal transduction,stress-related,transport,regulation,and predicted/hypothetical protein categories based on their function.The protein-protein interaction between the DEPs indicated that serum albumin(ALB)is very important,related to 6 other proteins.Proteins were then verified by western blot,the results were in agreement with the proteomic analyses.The identification of induced or repressed proteins because of As^(3+)in earthworms is helpful to explore the underlying mechanisms of soil arsenic ecotoxicity.

Combined effects of earthworms and biochar on PAHs-contaminated soil remediation:A review

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs)in soil pose a threat to the health of humans and other organisms due to their persistence.The remediation method of combined application of biochar and earthworms has received growing attention owing to its effectiveness in PAHs removal.However,the earthworm-biochar interaction and its influence on PAHs in soil has not been systematically reviewed.This review focuses on the effectiveness of combined application of earthworms and biochar in the remediation of PAHs-contaminated soils and the underlying mechanisms,including adsorption,bioaccumulation,and biodegradation.Earthworm-biochar interaction activates the functional microorganisms in soil and the PAHs-degrading microorganisms in earthworm guts,promoting PAHs biodegradation.This review provides a theoretical support for the combined application of biochar and earthworms in the remediation of PAHs-contaminated soils,points out the limitations of this remediation method,and finally shows the prospects for future research.

Subtropical forest macro-decomposers rapidly transfer litter carbon and nitrogen into soil mineral-associated organic matter

Background:Forest soils in tropical and subtropical areas store a significant amount of carbon.Recent framework to assess soil organic matter(SOM)dynamics under evolving global conditions suggest that dividing bulk SOM into particulate and mineral-associated organic matter(POM vs.MAOM)is a promising method for identifying how SOM contributes to reducing global warming.Soil macrofauna,earthworms,and millipedes have been found to play an important role in facilitating SOM processes.However,how these two co-existing macrofaunae impac the litter decomposition process and directly impact the formation of POM and MAOM remains unclear.Methods:Here,we set up a microcosm experiment,which consisted of 20 microcosms with four treatments earthworm and litter addition(E),millipedes and litter addition(M),earthworm,millipedes,and litter addition(E+M),and control(only litter addition)in five replicates.The soil and litter were sterilized prior to beginning the incubation experiment to remove any existing microbes.After incubating the samples for 42 days,the litte properties(mass,C,and N contents),soil physicochemical properties,as well as the C and N contents,and POM and MAOM^(13)C abundance in the 0–5 and 5–10 cm soil layers were measured.Finally,the relative influences o soil physicochemical and microbial properties on the distribution of C and N in the soil fractions were analyzed Results:The litter mass,C,and N associated with all four treatments significantly decreased after incubation especially under treatment E+M(litter mass:-58.8%,litter C:-57.0%,litter N:-75.1%,respectively),while earthworm biomass significantly decreased under treatment E.Earthworm or millipede addition alone showed no significant effects on the organic carbon(OC)and total nitrogen(TN)content in the POM fraction,but join addition of both significantly increased OC and TN regardless of soil depth.Importantly,all three macrofauna treatments increased the OC and TN content and decreased the^(13)C abundance in the MAOM fraction.More than65%of the total variations in the distribution of OC and TN throughout the two fractions can be explained by a combination of soil physicochemical and microbial properties.Changes in the OC distribution in the 0–5 cm soi layer are likely due to a decrease in soil pH and an increase in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi(AMF),while those in the 5–10 cm layer are probably caused by increases in soil exchangeable Ca and Mg,in addition to fungi and gram-negative(GN)bacteria.The observed TN distribution changes in the 0–5 cm soil likely resulted from a decrease in soil pH and increases in AMF,GN,and gram-negative(GP)bacteria,while TN distribution changes in the 5–10 cm soil could be explained by increases in exchangeable Mg and GN bacteria.Conclusions:The results indicate that the coexistence of earthworms and millipedes can accelerate the litte decomposition process and store more C in the MAOM fractions.This novel finding helps to unlock the processe by which complex SOM systems serve as C sinks in tropical forests and addresses the importance of soil mac rofauna in maintaining C-neutral atmospheric conditions under global climate change.

Earthworms promote the accumulation of rhizodeposit carbon to soil macroaggregate in a Mollisol of northeast China,primarily in long-term no-till soil

As soil ecosystem engineers,earthworms are the main promoters of soil aggregation,a process that drives the production of ecosystem services by soils.A crucial factor in the ecosystem service of carbon sequestration is rhizodeposit carbon,which is the main energy source of soil food webs.The effects of earthworms on the distribution of rhizodeposit-carbon in soil aggregates remain unclear.Here,we conducted a 13CO2 labeling experiment to determine the effects of earthworms on maize rhizodeposit carbon in soil aggregates after 14 years(2002-2016),in both conventional tillage(CT)and conservation tillage(no tillage,NT)soils.Four treatments were established in total:NTE(no tillage soil with earthworms),CTE(conventional tillage soil with earthworms),NTC(control,no tillage soil without earthworms),and CTC(control,conventional tillage soil without earthworms).Earthworms significantly enhanced the abundance of soil macroaggregates(>2000μm and 250-2000μm)on day 30 compared with day 2(after labeling),especially in the NTsoils.On day 30,in the presence of earthworms,the amounts of rhizodeposit carbon in the>2000μm and 250-2000μm soil aggregates in the NTsoils were significantly higher than in those in the CTsoils(P<0.05),and higherδ13C signatures in the same size aggregates were observed in the NT soils than in the CT soils(P<0.05).These findings indicated that compared with the CT soils,with the involvement of earthworm activity,the NT soils promoted more rhizodeposit carbon transformation to the soil macroaggregates.Our results clearly indicate that soil macroaggregates formed in different tillage soils in the presence of 2 different engineers(earthworms and roots)significantly differ from those formed in the presence of only one organism(roots)in the long term.

Evaluation of antioxidant enzymes performances and DNA damage induced by bisphenol A and diisobutylphthalate in Hyperiodrilus africanus-earthworms

Background:Bisphenol A(BPA)and diisobuthylphthalate(DIBP)have found wide applications as plasticizers;however,they are covalently bonded to materials and are subsequently leached into the environment.Methods:This study evaluated the effects of BPA,DIBP and mixtures of BPA and DIBP on the antioxidant enzymes[superoxide dismutase(SOD),peroxidase(POD)]activities using standard methods and DNA profile of earthworm(Hyperiodrilus africanus)using randomly amplified polymerase chain reaction(RAPD-PCR)method.A total of 2 kg soil samples collected from FADAMA Farm,Federal University of Agriculture,Abeokuta were spiked to obtain 1,2.5,5 and 10 ppm of BPA,DIBP and mixtures of BPA and DIBP.Earthworms were exposed to the unpolluted and spiked soil samples and were collected on the 7th and 14th day for SOD,POD and DNA analysis.Results:SOD activity was more pronounced at 5 and 10 ppm concentrations.POD activity was increased in all concentrations,including the control,meanwhile POD activity induced by BPA and DIBP was significantly higher(p<0.05)at 10 ppm compared to other concentrations.RAPD-PCR analysis revealed varying DNA fragment lengths due to excessive oxidative stress generated by the treatments,resulting in DNA damage.BPA and DIBP mixtures generated more fragments of DNA on day 14 than other treatments.Conclusions:This study established that antioxidant activity decreases with exposure time to BPA and DIBP,while DNA damage increases with exposure time.

Molecular toxicity of earthworms induced by cadmium contaminated soil and biomarkers screening

Earthworms （Eiseniafetida） were used to study the impact of low-dose cadmium in treated artificial soil （0, 0.6, 3, 6, 15, 30 mg/kg） and contaminated natural soil （1.46 mg/kg）. The changes of earthworms＇ physiological related gene expressions of metallothionein （MT）, armetocin, calreticulin and antimicrobial peptides were detected using real-time PCR after a 70-day incubation period. The results showed that low doses of cadmium could up regulate earthworms＇ MT and down regulate annetocin gene expression and show a significant positive and negative correlation respectively. The expression of two other genes, calreticulin and anti-microbial peptides, was induced at low doses of cadmium （highest gene expression at 0.6 mg/kg for calreticulin and 6 mg/kg for anti-microbial peptides） and inhibited at high doses. No significant correlation was found for these two genes. This study shows that MT and annetocin genes expression found in earthworms in contaminated soil have the potential to be developed as biomarkers of soil cadmium pollution.

Bioaccumulation and single and joint toxicities of penta-BDE and cadmium to earthworms (Eisenia fetida) exposed to spiked soils

Bioaccumulation of penta-BDE(DE-71) in earthworms(Eisenia fetida) and the induced toxicities on the growth and reproduction of earthworms were investigated.All the major congeners in DE-71 could be bioaccumulated in earthworms and the concentration found in earthworms correlated to the spiked concentration in soil.DE-71 might inhibit the growth and reproduction of cocoons and juveniles of earthworms.The toxicities were dose dependent and increased with exposure time.Exposing earthworms to combination of DE-71 and Cd resulted in enhanced mortality and reduction of cocoons or juveniles in a synergistic mode.The presence of DE-71 may affect the relocation of Cd in earthworms.When the earthworms were exposed to Cd alone,Cd up-taken by earthworms was mainly partitioned in the cytosolic fraction.While DE-71 was present,Cd in the cytosolic fraction decreased significantly.It is perhaps that DE-71 inhibits the synthesis of matallothioneins,and then reduces the detoxification ability of earthworms.This is the first report about the toxicity of PBDEs to earthworms.The result would be useful for ecological risk assessment of PBDEs in terrestrial ecosystem.

Augmentation of tribenuron methyl removal from polluted soil with Bacillus sp.strain BS2 and indigenous earthworms

Tribenuron methyl （TBM） is a member of the sulfonylurea herbicide family and is widely used worldwide. In this study, TBM- degrading bacteria were enriched with TBM as potential carbon, nitrogen or sulfur source, and 44 bacterial isolates were obtained. These isolates were phylogenetically diverse, and were grouped into 25 operational taxonomic units and 14 currently known genera. Three representatives, Bacillus sp. strain BS2, Microbacterium sp. strain BS3, and Cellulosimicrobium sp. strain BSI 1, were selected, and their growth and TBM removal from culture broth were investigated. In addition, indigenous earthworms were collected and applied to augment TBM degradation in lab-scale soil column experiments. Results demonstrated that Bacillus sp. strain BS2 and earthworms significantly increased TBM removal during soil column experiments.

Earthworms promote greater richness and abundance in the emergence of plant species across a grassland-forest ecotone

Aims Chalk grasslands are subject to vegetation dynamics that range from species-rich open grasslands to tall and encroached grasslands,and woods and forests.In grasslands,earthworms impact plant communities and ecosystem functioning through the modification of soil physical,chemical and microbiological properties,but also through their selective ingestion and vertical transportation of seeds from the soil seed bank.Laboratory experiments showed that seed-earthworm interactions are species specific,but little is known on the impact of seed-earthworm interactions in the field.The overall aim of this study was to better understand seed-earthworm interactions and their impact on the plant community.First we analyzed the composition of seedlings emerging from casts after earthworm ingestion.Then we compared seedling composition in casts to the plant composition of emerging seedlings from the soil and of the aboveground vegetation along four stages of the secondary succession of chalk grasslands.Methods Four stages of the secondary succession of a chalk grassland—from open sward to woods—were sampled in Upper Normandy,France,in February 2010.Within each successional stage(×3 replicates),we sampled the standing vegetation,soil seed bank at three soil depths(0-2,2-5 and 5-10 cm)and earthworm surface casts along transects.Soil and cast samples were water sieved before samples were spread onto trays and placed into a greenhouse.Emerging seedlings were counted and identified.Effect of successional stage and origin of samples on mean and variability of abundance and species richness of seedlings emerging from casts and soil seed banks were analyzed.Plant compositions were compared between all sample types.We used generalized mixed-effect models and a distance-based redundancy multivariate analysis.Important Findings Seedling abundance was always higher in earthworm casts than in the soil seed bank and increased up to 5-fold,4-fold and 3.5-fold,respectively,in the tall grassland,woods and encroached grassland compared to the soil surface layer.Species richness was also higher in earthworm casts than in the soil seed bank in all successional stages,with a 4-fold increase in the encroached grassland.The plant composition of the standing vegetation was more similar to that of seedlings from casts than to that of seedlings from the soil seed bank.Seedlings diversity emerging from casts in the tall and encroached grasslands tended toward the diversity found in woods.Our results indicate that earthworms may promote the emergence of seedlings.We also suggest that the loss of some plant species in the seed bank and the tall grass vegetation in intermediary successional stages modify the local conditions and prevent the further establishment of early-successional plant species.

Earthworm Optimization with Improved SqueezeNet Enabled Facial Expression Recognition Model

Facial expression recognition(FER)remains a hot research area among computer vision researchers and still becomes a challenge because of high intraclass variations.Conventional techniques for this problem depend on hand-crafted features,namely,LBP,SIFT,and HOG,along with that a classifier trained on a database of videos or images.Many execute perform well on image datasets captured in a controlled condition;however not perform well in the more challenging dataset,which has partial faces and image variation.Recently,many studies presented an endwise structure for facial expression recognition by utilizing DL methods.Therefore,this study develops an earthworm optimization with an improved SqueezeNet-based FER(EWOISN-FER)model.The presented EWOISN-FER model primarily applies the contrast-limited adaptive histogram equalization(CLAHE)technique as a pre-processing step.In addition,the improved SqueezeNet model is exploited to derive an optimal set of feature vectors,and the hyperparameter tuning process is performed by the stochastic gradient boosting(SGB)model.Finally,EWO with sparse autoencoder(SAE)is employed for the FER process,and the EWO algorithm appropriately chooses the SAE parameters.Awide-ranging experimental analysis is carried out to examine the performance of the proposed model.The experimental outcomes indicate the supremacy of the presented EWOISN-FER technique.

蜜蜂安全度夏的技术措施

蜜蜂安全度夏的技术措施夏季天气炎热，外界蜜源缺乏，蜂王产卵减少，蜂螨蜜度增高，蜂群面临蜂螨、毒害、夏衰等不利因素。因此，必须采取切实可行的措施，才能让蜜蜂安全度过夏季。一、备足饲料。饲料是蜜蜂越夏的重要条件，每一蜂箱一定要留足５～８公斤越夏蜜。如蜂蜜...

Toxicity assessment for chlorpyrifos-contaminated soil with three different earthworm test methods

Earthworm toxicity tests are useful tools for terrestrial risk assessment but require a hierarchy of test designs that differ in effect levels （behavior, sublethal, lethal）. In this study, the toxicity of chlorpyrifos contaminated soil on earthworms was assessed. In addition to the acute and chronic tests, an avoidance response test was applied. Earthworms were exposed to sublethal and lethal concentration of chlorpyrifos, and evaluated for acute toxicity, growth, fecundity and avoidance response after a certain exposure period. The test methods covered all important ecological relevant endpoints （acute, chronic, behavioral）. Concentration of 78.91 mg/kg, chlorpyrifos caused significant toxic effects in all test methods, but at lower test concentrations, only significant chronic toxic effects could be observed. In present study, chlorpyrifos had adverse effect on growth and fecundity in earthworm exposed to 5 mg/kg chlorpyrifos after eight weeks. The avoidance response test, however, showed significant repellent effects at concentration of 40 mg/kg chlorpyrifos. For chlorpyrifos, concentration affecting avoidance response was far greater than growth and fecundity, it seemed likely that earthworms were not able to escape from pesticide-contaminated soil into the clean soil in field and hence were exposed continuously to elevated concentrations of pesticides.

Assessing cypermethrin-contaminated soil with three different earthworm test methods

A series of tests (lethal,sublethal,and behavioral) on earthworms were conducted as an eco-assessment of pesticides.In this study,the toxicity of cypermethrin-contaminating soil on adult and juvenile earthworms was assessed.Beside the acute and chronic tests,an avoidance response test was carried out.It was shown that the all-round toxicity from cypermethrin was weak on adult earthworms.Compared with adult earthworms,the toxicity of juvenile earthworms from cypermethrin especially chronic toxicity increased...