Re: [compost_tea] Worms as an indicator

From: <soilfoodweb_at_aol.com>
Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 02:28:06 -0400
The appearance of earthworms is a good indicator that you have a decent set of bacteria, most likely decent fungi, certainly protozoa in the soil.  Earthworms indicate a good foodweb for the mid-successional set of plants.  But maybe not a good foodweb for perennials. 

And if you don't have earthworms, it does not mean you automatically therefore have a poor foodweb.  Other creatures can take over the role of earthowrms - such as enchytraeids, springtails, other microarthropods. 

Weeds are also a good indicator that your foodweb is not up to par.  And you can have earthworms but lots of weeds.  That means the bacterial - protozoan foodweb is alive and well enough to provide the earthworms with the food they need, but the balance of bacteria nd fungi is out-of-whack to deal with the later successional species of plants.  Need to deal with compaction.  That means more fungi are needed. 

Earthowrms can still get by - not happy, but getting by and thus present - even when soil is compacted enough to limit root growth down into the soil.

Get a soil corer, or a soil penetromter, or a metal bar, and push into the soil.  How far down until you hit compaction?  You can have worms in that top layer, but not lower.  The worms are working to help chew up the compacted areas, but it may take them awhile.

Elaine Ingham
President, Soil Foodweb Inc.
SFI Corvallis, OR
SFI Port Jefferson, NY
SFI Lismore, NSW, Australia
SFI Hilversum, The Netherlands
SFI Cambridge, New Zealand
SFI Culiacan, Mexico
SFI Jerome, Idaho
http://www.soilfoodweb.com

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Received on Wed Jun 16 2004 - 07:56:31 EDT

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