The earthworm plays an essential role in the health of the soil and biodiversity. But its survival is threatened, particularly by intensive agriculture. VIDEOGRAPHIC
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00:00Earthworms play a crucial role in the health and fertility of agricultural soils, and thus
00:12the production of our food supply.
00:14We only see them rarely, but they are abundant in the soil, particularly in the temperate
00:18zones of the planet.
00:20Sixty years ago there were up to a tonne of worms per hectare of soil.
00:24There are numerous types of worms, which dig different types of tunnels, horizontal and
00:30vertical, near the surface, or deep in the soil.
00:33They help oxygen and water to penetrate the soil to moisten and aerate it.
00:39This improves the nutrition and growth of plants.
00:43The worms also allow the recycling of organic material.
00:47They digest it and break it into much smaller pieces, in combination with bacteria and microbes
00:52also present in the soil.
00:55The excrement from earthworms contains precious nutritional elements for plants.
01:00It also allows carbon to be retained deeper in the soil, which helps to reduce carbon
01:04emissions causing global warming, as do the oceans and trees.
01:09However there are a number of threats to earthworms, particularly ploughing soil too deeply and
01:14using chemical fertilizers and pesticides, which severely depletes the number of species.
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