BACKGROUND For thousands of years, earthworm and its products have been used for its therapeutic benefits. The traditional medical knowledge of indigenous people throughout the world more particularly in Asia, including India, Myanmar, China, Korea and Vietnam has played vital role in identifying, extracting and using biologically active compounds from earthworms. MATERIALS AND METHODS Effect...

We quantify mechanical processes common to soil penetration by earthworms and growing plant roots, including the energetic requirements for soil plastic displacement. The basic mechanical model considers cavity expansion into a plastic wet soil involving wedging by root tips or earthworms via cone-like penetration followed by cavity expansion due to pressurized earthworm hydroskeleton or root r...

The functional properties of the neuromuscular systems of animals are frequently studied by using isolated nerve-muscle preparations and a suitable physiological saline solution. In general suitable salines are obtained by determining the concentrations of major ions in an animal's body fluids and duplicating these concentrations in the form of a saline solution. Any alteration in the concentra...

17 To assess the risks that contaminated soils pose to the environment properly a greater 18 understanding of how soil biota influence the mobility of metal(loid)s in soils is 19 required. Lumbricus terrestris L. were incubated in three soils contaminated with As, 20 Cu, Pb and Zn. The concentration and speciation of metal(loid)s in pore waters and the 21 mobility and partitioning in casts were...

European earthworms are invading previously worm-free hardwood forests across Minnesota and the Great Lakes region. In many of these forests, earthworm invasions have been associated with the loss of a previously thick forest floor. The ability of earthworms to alter and control ecosystem processes has been demonstrated in agricultural systems, but the dynamics and impact of these invasions in ...

Factors that negatively affect the quality of wildlife habitat are a major concern for conservation. Non-native species invasions, in particular, are perceived as a global threat to the quality of wildlife habitat. Recent evidence indicates that some changes to understory plant communities in northern temperate forests of North America, including invasions by 3 non-native plant species, are fac...

The presence of deep-burrowing earthworms can affect soil structure and in®ltration, therefore in ̄uencing agricultural productivity. We investigated the effects of deep-burrowing earthworm species on soil structure at the surface of chisel-plowed or ridge-tilled cropping systems in Pike County, OH, planted to corn (Zea mays L.). Earthworm populations were experimentally manipulated in ®eld encl...