Earthworms accelerate rice straw decomposition and maintenance of soil organic carbon dynamics in rice agroecosystems.

ABSTRACT:

Background

To promote straw degradation, we inoculated returned farmland straw with earthworms (Pheretima guillelmi). Increasing the number of earthworms may generally alter soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics and the biological activity of agricultural soils.

Methods

We performed soil mesocosm experiments with and without earthworms to assess the decomposition and microbial mineralization of returned straw and soil enzyme activity across different time periods.

Results

When earthworms were present in soil, the surface residues were completely consumed during the first four weeks, but when earthworms were absent, most of the residues remained on the soil surface after 18 weeks. On day 28, the SOC content was significantly higher in the treatment where both earth

SUBMITTER: Song K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7502234 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature