Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
earthworm symposia; the reader is referred to other chapters in this volume and to the proceedings
of these meetings for a wealth of details about current research on earthworms and agriculture.
Despite the large literature body on earthworms, much remains to be discovered before the
beneficial activities of earthworms in agriculture can be exploited fully. Clearly, excellent progress
is being made in a number of areas. However, the ultimate test will be to demonstrate how
successfully predictions can be made about effects of earthworms on ecosystem processes and
about management of earthworm populations and communities to improve soil fertility. The sim-
ulation models at this stage are mostly empirical and almost perhaps adequate for some management
purposes (e.g., site-, species-, or management-specific conditions). However, as the knowledge base
grows and questions become much more focused and refined, better understanding of earthworm-
linked processes and the development of mechanistic models that predict earthworm behaviors over
wide ranges of environmental conditions should be expected. Steps in this direction have been
made by Martin and Lavelle (1992), Monestiez and Kretzschmar (1992), Klok et al. (1995) and
Bohlen et al. (
Chapter 9
, this volume).
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors are grateful to G.G. Brown, M.A. Callaham, Jr., and D.A. Crossley, Jr. for helpful
discussions during preparation of this chapter.
REFERENCES
Baker, G.H., T. Thumlert, L. Meisel, P.I. Carter, and GP. Kilpin. 1995a. ÑEarthworms DownunderÒ: a survey
of the earthworm fauna in urban and agricultural soils in Australia,
, 29, 589Ï598.
Baker, G.H., P.M.L. Williams, P.I. Carter, and N.R. Long. 1995b. Influence of lumbricid earthworms on wheat
and clover yield and quality,
Soil Biol. Biochem.
, 29, 599Ï602.
Barrios, I., P. Lavelle, M. Brossard, J. Tondol, M. Martinez, J.P. Rossi, B.K. Serapati, A. Angeles, C. Fragoso,
J.J. Jimenez, T. Decans, C. Lattand, J. Kanyonyo, E. Blanchart, L. Chapius, G.G. Brown, and A.
Moreno. 1999. Ecology of earthworm species with large environmental tolerance and/or extended
distributions, in
Soil Biol. Biochem.
Earthworm Management in Tropical Agroecosystems
, P. Lavelle, L. Brussaard, and
P. Hendrix, Eds., CAB International, Wallingford, U.K., pp. 57Ï86.
Binet, F. and P. Trehen. 1992. Experimental microcosm study of the role of
Lumbricus terrestris
(Oligochaeta:
24, 1501Ï1506.
Blair, I.M., R.W. Parmelee, and P. Lavelle. 1995. Influences of earthworms on biogeochemistry, in
Lumbricidae) on nitrogen dynamics in cultivated soils,
Soil Biol. Biochem.
Ecology
and Biogeography of Earthworms in North America
, P.F. Hendrix, Ed., Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton,
FL, pp. 125Ï156.
Blakemore, R.I. 1995. Earthworms and pasture production in south-east Queensland,
Soil Biol. Biochem.
, 29,
603Ï608.
Bohlen, P.J., R.W. Parmelee, and C.A. Edwards. 1997. Earthworms (
Lumbricus terrestris
) alter nutrient
dynamics and microbial activity of surface litter in agroecosystems,
Ecol. Appl
., 7, 341Ï349.
Bovicini, A.M. Paglian, and P. Omodeo, Eds. 1987.
On Earthworms
, Mucchi Editore, Modena, Italy.
Bouch, M.B. 1977. Stratgies Lombriciennes, in
Soil Organisms as Components of Ecosystems: Proceedings
of the 6th International Colloquium on Soil Zoology
, U. Lohm and T. Persson, Eds., Swedish Natural
Science Research Council Ecological Bulletin No. 25, Stockholm, pp. 122Ï133.
Cortez, J., R. Hameed, and M.B. Bouche. 1989. C and N transfer in soil with or without earthworms fed with
14
C- and
15
N-labelled wheat straw,
Soil Biol. Biochem.,
21, 491Ï497.
Devliegher, W. and W. Verstraete. 1995. The effect of
Lumbricus terrestris
on soil in relation to plant growth,
, 24, 341Ï346.
Diaz Cosin, D.J., J.B. Jesus, D. Trigo, and M.H. Garvin, Eds. 1999.
Soil Biol. Biochem.
Proceedings of Sixth International
, 43, 481Ï908.
Edwards, C.A., Ed. 1997. Proceedings of Fifth International Symposium on Earthworm Ecology,
Symposium on Earthworm Ecology
Soil Biol.
Biochem.
29, 215Ï766.
