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Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD)
U2 worm

Understanding and using ecosystem services provided by earthworms to increase soil health and carbon storage

Context

The current global challenges such as population growth, climate change following increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, loss of biodiversity and land degradation, require the development of sustainable land management practices . In this context, preservation of soil quality is key, because soils are related to many ecosystem services and are underpinning many sustainable development goals. To develop management practices aiming at positive effects on soil a deep taking advantage of its chemical, physical and biological complexity is required.

Our objectives

We propose to use major ecosystem engineers to enhance soil organic matter (SOM) stabilisation and related soil ecosystem services. We suggest to use earthworms during co-composting with minerals to enhance carbon sequestration through enhancing organo-mineral interaction and to introduce earthworm communities into soils, which lost much of their belowground biodiversity.

Our approach

We investigate the traits of temperate and tropical earthworm species in order to understand their role in soil carbon dynamics. With this knowledge we use the most suitable species to develop ecological engineering applications.