Increase in the Nitrogen Content of Soil by the Introduction of Earthworms into Soil

Abstract

The contribution of an earthworm species (Amynthas vittatus) to the increase of the nitrogen content of soil was examined. Three specimens of adult earthworms were introduced into 300 g of soil (Gray Lowland soil, silty clay) supplemented with 1% carboxymethyl cellulose in a container and incubated for 32 d at 22°C in the dark. The contents of total-N, NH4-N and NO3-N, and the population of aerobic nitrogen-fixing bacteria in soil significantly increased after incubation with the earthworms, while the natural abundance of 15N (δ15N) in soil decreased. The amount of nitrogen in the earthworms did not decrease during the incubation in the microcosm. Both acetylene reduction activity of the microcosm and incorporation of 15N to soil from atmospheric 15N2 were significantly enhanced by the introduction of the earthworms into soil, though the observed increment of nitrogen in soil was much higher than the estimated one based on the nitrogen-fixing activity. The results obtained in the present study indicated that the earthworms increased the nitrogen content of soil, presumably due to the enhancement of the nitrogen-fixing activity of the soil from the microcosm by the earthworms.