Inoculation of earthworms into reclaimed soils: the UK experience

Response of earthworm communities to soil engineering and soil isolation in urban landscapes

“…However, soil engineering negatively affected total earthworm species richness which reinforces a previous study that showed in urban landscapes that earthworm species richness declines due to soil 13 disturbance (i.e., soil engineering) and the loss of habitats due to urbanisation (Xie et al, 2018). Given this erosion of earthworm diversity, engineering processes could include population transfers from nearby pseudo-natural soils to engineered soils thanks to inoculation techniques that would compensate for losses due to constructions (Butt et al, 1997;Butt, 1999).…”

Earthworms in Soil Restoration: Lessons Learned from United Kingdom Case Studies of Land Reclamation

“…They did not therefore suffer from any chemical exposure prior to use, but once again, the majority (commercially bred epigeic Eisenia veneta ) of the 1.5 million inoculated (Hallows 1993) were not a suitable choice. This was confirmed during monitoring in later years, when none of this species was located (Butt 1999).…”

“…Nevertheless, use of earthworms should always be questioned, and unless the points below are recognized and considered before use, then it is likely that any efforts made may be wasted. There is a wealth of material in the scientific literature relating to earthworms in soil restoration (e.g., Lee 1995; Butt 1999) beyond the scope of the case studies presented here. Any future soil restorations must consider these, as appropriate, and learn from past experiences.…”

Efficacy of Vermiremediation to Remove Contaminants from Soil

“…Finally, vermiremediation is a potentially cost-effective remediation technique when compared to some physicochemical remediation methods. 1 , 42 , 43…”