Responses of earthworm abundance and production of surface casts and their physico-chemical properties to soil management in relation to those of an undisturbed area on a semi-arid tropical Alfisol

• Published in: Soil biology & biochemistry Vol. 29; no. 3; pp. 617 - 620
• Main Authors: Reddy, M.Vikram, Reddy, V.Ravinder, Balashouri, P., Kumar, V.P.K., Cogle, A.L., Yule, D.F., Babu, M.
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01.03.1997; New York, NY Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Applied ecology; Biological and medical sciences; Demecology; Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution; Effects of pollution and side effects of pesticides on protozoa and invertebrates; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Oligochaeta; Protozoa. Invertebrata; Asia; Andhra Pradesh; India; Seeded grassland; Tropical zone; Cajanus cajan; Oligochaeta; Earthworm; Soil fauna; Semi arid zone; Dicotyledones; Angiospermae; Chemical control; Soil tillage; Ecotoxicology; Alfisols; Earthworm cast; Annelida; Soil management; Agroecosystem; Grain legume; Animal activity; Leguminosae; Macrofauna; Useful animal; Spermatophyta; Fodder crop; Invertebrata; Population density; Physicochemical properties; Organic amendment
• ISSN: 0038-0717; 1879-3428
• DOI: 10.1016/S0038-0717(96)00031-4

Population densities of earthworms and their surface cast production were sampled across 15 soil management treatments such as annual tillages with organic amendments and perennial ley treatments during 1989–1993 in a semi-acid tropical Alfisol. They showed significant reduction in their densities in annual treatments due to carbofuran and herbicide application during July 1989. In 1992, densities recovered from insecticide stress after 3 years, and showed significant temporal and spatial variation across the treatments, being higher during the post-rainy season. Soil management practices significantly affected the densities which were higher in zero-tillage farmyard manure treatment and in zero-tillage Stylosanthes and pigeonpea and Stylosanthes treatments among the annual and perennial treatments, respectively. Surface cast production of earthworms was higher in 1992 than in 1993, and was significantly affected by the annual treatments ( P < 0.05). However, the physico-chemical properties such as pH, electrical conductivity (EC), organic C, total N, available P, available K, Na, Ca and Mg of casts were not affected by the annual and perennial treatments. The densities of earthworms, and their surface cast production were significantly greater in a natural revegetation area than those in the arable area under soil management, while most of the physico-chemical characteristics of casts were higher than those of the underlying soil in both arable and natural revegetation areas.