The common practice of remediating metal contaminated mine soils with compost can reduce metal mobility and promote revegetation, but the effect of introduced or colonising earthworms on metal solubility is largely unknown. We amended soils from an As/Cu (1150 mg As kg(-1) and 362 mg Cu kg(-1)) and Pb/Zn mine (4550 mg Pb kg(-1) and 908 mg Zn kg(-1)) with 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20% compost and then in...

Three vermicomposts derived from animal manures exposed to the action of the earthworms Eisenia foetida or Lumbricus rubellus were investigated to determine the nature of the humic acid fraction in relation to the potential fertility of the vermicomposts. The isolated humic acid fractions were analysed by pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The greater part of the humic acids consis...

The iron-containing hemoglobins (Hbs) are essential proteins to serve as oxygen transporters in the blood. Among various kinds of Hbs, the earthworm Hbs are the champions in carrying oxygen due to not only their large size but also the unusually high cooperativity of ligand binding. However, the cooperative oxygen binding mechanisms are still mostly unknown. Here we report the cryo-electron mic...

Herbicide use is increasing worldwide both in agriculture and private gardens. However, our knowledge of potential side-effects on non-target soil organisms, even on such eminent ones as earthworms, is still very scarce. In a greenhouse experiment, we assessed the impact of the most widely used glyphosate-based herbicide Roundup on two earthworm species with different feeding strategies. We dem...