**5. References**


BS1393(pBS216) containing the plasmid pBS216 which controls naphthalene and salicylate biodegradation and able to utilize aromatic oil hydrocarbons. It has been found experimentally that in the total emission of carbon dioxide from soil to atmosphere, about 38 % СО2 was produced as a result of SOM mineralization and about 62 % was formed from oil hydrocarbons as anthropogenic pollutant. The soils polluted with oil hydrocarbons undergo the change of SOM by replacement of part native organic substances on the newly synthesized products in the course of oil biodegradation and the increase of the residual oil share in the total pool of organic matter in soil. Within 6-month time, the quantity of the microbial newly synthesized organic products (carbon of cell biomass and exometabolites) nearly 1.6-fold exceeds the carbon quantity of SOM taken up for the CO2 microbial mineralization. After partially microbial consumption of oil hydrocarbons, the substrate characteristics of residual oil are rather different from crude oil and can be considered as

Abbassi B.E., Shquirat, W.D. (2008). Kinetics of indigenous isolated bacteria used for ex-situ

Adam G., Duncan H. (2002). Influence of diesel fuel on seed germination. *Environmental* 

Adam G., Duncan H. (2003). The effect of diesel fuel on common vetch (*Vicia sativa* L.)

Anderson J.P.E., and Domsch K.H. (1978). A physiological method for the quantitative measurement of microbial biomass in soils. *Soil Biol. Biochem.*. Vol. 10, pp. 215-221 Belhaj A., Desnoues N. and Elmerich C. (2002). Alkane biodegradation in *Pseudomonas* 

Bingeman C.W., Varner J.E., and Martin W.P. (1953). The effect of the addition of organic

Blagodatskaya, E.V., Blagodatsky, S.A., Anderson, T.-H., Kuzyakov Y. (2007). Priming

Blagodatskaya, E.V., Kuzyakov Y. (2008). Mechanism of real and apparent priming effects

Blagodatsky S.A., Heinemeiyer O. Richter J. (2000). Estimating the active and total soil

Blagodatskaya, E.V., Blagodatsky, S.A., Anderson, T.-H., Kuzyakov Y. (2009). Contrasting

Hamamura N., Olson S.H., Ward D. M., and Inskeep W.P. (2006). Microbial population

substrate availability in soil. *European J. Soil Sci*. Vol. 60, pp. 186-197 Craig H. (1957). Isotopic standards for carbon and oxygen and correction factors for mass-

plants. *Environmental Geochemistry and Health*, Vol. 25, pp. 123-130.

relative genes. //*Res. Microbiol*. Vol. 153. P. 339−344.

strategies. *Appl. Soil Ecology*, Vol. 37, pp. 95-105.

review. *Biol. Fertil. Soils*, Vol. 45, pp. 115-131.

*Microbiol.* Vol. 72, No. 9, pp. 6316-6324

bioremediation of petroleum contaminated soil. *Water Air Soil Pollution,* Vol. 192,

*aeruginosa* strains isolated from pullulated zone: identification of *alk*B and *alk*B-

materials on the decomposition of an organic soil. *Soil Sci. Soc*. Vol. 22, pp. 707-713.

effects in Chernozem induced by glucose and N in relation to microbial growth

and theiir dependence onsoil microbial biomass and community structure: critical

microbial biomass by kinetic respiration analysis. *Biol. Fert. Soils*. Vol. 32, pp. 73-81.

effects of glucose, living roots and maize straw on microbial growth kinetics and

spectrometric analysis of carbon dioxide. *Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta*, Vol. 12, pp.

dynamics associated with crude-oil biodegradation in diverse soils. *Appl. Environ.* 

*waste oil* in the soil.

**5. References** 

pp. 221–226

133-140.

*Pollution*, Vol. 120, pp. 363-370.

Hamamura N., Fukui M., Ward D.M., Inskeep W.P. (2008). Assessing soil


**5** 

*1,2Nigeria 3India* 

**Earthworms and Vermiculture** 

*1Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science 2Kebbi State University of Science and Technology 3Managing Director, Ecoscience Research Foundation* 

Earthworms are terrestrial invertebrates belonging to the Order Oligochaeta, Class Chaetopoda, Phylum Annelida, which have originated about 600 million years ago, during the pre-Cambrian era (Piearce *et al.,* 1990). Earthworms occur in diverse habitat, exhibiting effective activity, by bringing about physical and chemical changes in the soil leading to improvement in soil fertility. An approach towards good soil management, with an emphasis on the role of soil dwellers like earthworms, in soil fertility, is very important in

The role of earthworms in soil formation and soil fertility is well documented and recognised (Darwin, 1881; Edwards *et al.,* 1995; Kale, 1998; Lalitha *et al.,* 2000). The main activity of earthworms involves the ingestion of soil, mixing of different soil components and production of surface and sub surface castings thereby converting organic matter into soil humus (Jairajpuri, 1993). Earthworms play an important role in the decomposition of organic matter and soil metabolism through feeding, fragmentation, aeration, turnover and

Earthworms were referred by Aristotle as "the intestines of earth and the restoring agents of soil fertility" (Shipley, 1970). They are biological indicators of soil quality (Ismail, 2005), as a good population of earthworms indicates the presence of a large population of bacteria, viruses, fungi, insects, spiders and other organisms and thus a healthy soil (Lachnicht and

The role of earthworms in the recycling of nutrients, soil structure, soil productivity and agriculture, and their application in environment and organic waste management is well understood (Edwards *et al.,* 1995; Tomlin *et al.,* 1995; Shuster *et al.,* 2000; Ansari and Ismail,

Lee (1985), recognised three main ecological groups of earthworms, based on the soil horizons in which the earthworms were commonly found *i.e.,* litter, topsoil and sub soil.

2001a, b; Ismail, 2005; Ansari and Ismail, 2008; Ansari and Sukhraj, 2010).

maintaining balance in an ecosystem (Shuster *et al.,* 2000).

**1. Introduction** 

dispersion (Shuster *et al.,* 2000).

**2. Ecological strategies of earthworms** 

Hendrix, 2001).

 **Biotechnology** 

A. A. Ansari1,2 and S. A. Ismail3

communities in remediation of polluted soil. *Applied Biochemistry and Microbiology.*  Vol. 44, No. 4, pp. 389–395.

