Скачать или смотреть “I have come to understand, like Darwin had, that earthworms are not destroyers, but redeemers.

#Earthworms Earthworms are considered to be a good biological indicator of soil health, as they are sensitive to pH, waterlogging, compaction, rotations, tillage and organic matter. Their numbers and distribution across a field can reveal what’s going on under the surface.

In the UK we have 27 species, 10 of which are commonly found in agricultural soils and these can be grouped into three ecological types:

Surface dwelling earthworms (Epigeic earthworms) don't make burrows but live on the surface of the soil – often in leaf litter and in compost. They rapidly consume the compost material and reproduce very quickly. They are usually bright red or reddish-brown, and the compost worms in particular (known as brandling or tiger worms) are often stripy.
Shallow burrowing or topsoil earthworms (Endogeic earthworms) are pale coloured - pink, grey, green or blue - and make horizontal burrows through the soil to move around and to feed. Some can burrow very deeply in the soil.
Deep burrowing earthworms (Anecic earthworms) are the most common earthworms in the UK. They are the largest species, often reddish brown, and they make permanent vertical burrows in soil. They feed on leaves on the soil surface that they drag into their burrows. They also cast on the surface, as often seen in grass. They make middens (piles of casts) around the entrance to their burrows.।

As Darwin wrote "There are few animals which have played so important a part in the history of the world than the earthworm."