As a child, did an elderly grandparent ever tell you to leave worms in the garden alone, as they are good for the wellness of the earth? If so, we can now confirm that that elderly relative was right, but only in terms of the soil in the garden. In terms of the planet Earth, they may be contributing to the environmental crisis.
As worms move through the soil, they increase the wellbeing of the ground and play a crucial role in plant reproduction. A new study has found, however, that as they do so, they are helping the soil to emit harmful greenhouse gasses which could damage the environment.
Many of us are aware of the threats caused to the environment by humans, but could humble earthworms really be playing a part in global warming too? The study, published in Nature Climate Change, seems to confirm that this may indeed be the case. Carried out by Climate Change researchers in Holland, Columbia and the United States, the 237 experiments looked at the role that worms play in the soil’s emission of greenhouse gasses.
They showed that around two thirds of nitrous oxide emissions come from soil, as well as around 20 percent of carbon dioxide, due to the natural biological processes that are involved in plan life and microorganisms, both of which rely on worms to play a key role.
In the study, earthworms are referred to as ‘soil ecosystem engineers’ due to the part that they play by burrowing, altering the earth’s physical structure and making it more porous. In this way, they affect how much carbon dioxide escapes into the air. At the same time, they produce nitrous oxide in their guts.
It has not previously been known whether the presence of worms increased or reduced the emissions, as some scientists believed that they may in fact help to lock the gasses away. This latest large study seems to finally conclude that worms increase the contribution that soil plays to global warming by 16 percent.
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