Abstract
The objective of this study was to evaluate the ability to degrade organic matter by edaphic macrofauna (worms), carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratio and hydrogenation potential (pH) during the vermicomposting process in different organic residues. The treatments were constituted by organic residues of animal origin (bovine, ovine and equine manure) and vegetable (herb-checkmate and coffee drag), which were conditioned in plastic pots with a capacity of 10 liters, comprising five treatments in a completely randomized experimental design, with five replications. Were inoculated 150 earthworms of the species Eisenia foetida, into each plot. After 87 days, the evaluation of the multiplication of the earthworms was carried out, through its manual count and its cocoons. At the beginning and at the end of the experiment, the samples were submitted to analysis of humidity at 60 °C, pH, volumetric density, chemical analysis of macronutrients and C/N ratio. There was a dominance of worms and cocoons in the process of vermicomposting in the residues of ovine manure and herb-checkmate. The macronutrients (P, K and Mg) and C/N ratio were higher in the vegetal residues, while for N higher values were found in ovine manure and coffee drag treatments, and for Ca higher value among treatments was observed in the coffee drag treatment at the end and the lowest value at initiation. The results obtained in this study demonstrate the importance of the edaphic macrofauna to the vermicomposting process, since it allows more information about its influence on the continuity of soil organic matter decomposition processes.
Highlights
The edaphic macrofauna comprises the largest invertebrates such as earthworms, larval and adult beetles, centipedes, termites, ants, snake lice, tatuans e arachnids (Wolters, 2000; Lavelle and Spain, 2001).Some of these, such as earthworms, are called “ecosystem engineers” because their activities lead to the creation of biogenic structures, modifying the physical properties of the soil on which they live and the availability of resources to other organisms (Wolters, 2000)
Of the numerous earthworm species known in the world (Sharma et al, 2005), Eisenia foetida is the most used in captivity due to its wide distribution, tolerance to temperature fluctuation, resistance to handling, ability to live in organic residues with different degrees of humidity, in addition to its high reproductive capacity and rapid growth (Aquino and Nogueira, 2001; Pereira et al, 2005)
The microorganisms are responsible for the biochemical degradation of organic matter, earthworms influence physically and biochemically in the process (Naddafi et al, 2004), because they transform it into a compound of better quality than those produced by the traditional method of composting, making the vermicompost a low-cost, simple and efficient process (Atiyeh et al, 2001)
Summary
The edaphic macrofauna comprises the largest invertebrates (organisms larger than 10 mm in length or more than 2 mm in diameter) such as earthworms, larval and adult beetles, centipedes, termites, ants, snake lice (milipéias), tatuans e arachnids (Wolters, 2000; Lavelle and Spain, 2001).Some of these, such as earthworms, are called “ecosystem engineers” because their activities lead to the creation of biogenic structures, modifying the physical properties of the soil on which they live and the availability of resources to other organisms (Wolters, 2000). The microorganisms are responsible for the biochemical degradation of organic matter, earthworms influence physically and biochemically in the process (Naddafi et al, 2004), because they transform it into a compound of better quality than those produced by the traditional method of composting, making the vermicompost a low-cost, simple and efficient process (Atiyeh et al, 2001) In this sense, the objective of this work was to evaluate the ability to degrade organic matter by edaphic macrofauna (earthworms), carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratio and hydrogen ionic potential (pH) during the vermicompost process in different residues organic Of the numerous earthworm species known in the world (Sharma et al, 2005), Eisenia foetida is the most used in captivity (vermicomposting) due to its wide distribution, tolerance to temperature fluctuation, resistance to handling, ability to live in organic residues with different degrees of humidity, in addition to its high reproductive capacity and rapid growth (Aquino and Nogueira, 2001; Pereira et al, 2005).
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