Earthworms help produce as much grain as Russia, say researchers

[Judi Lynn]

The humble creatures – which break down organic matter and aerate soils – contribute to as much as 6.5% of the world’s grain harvests

Phoebe Weston
@phoeb0
Fri 29 Sep 2023 01.00 EDT

Earthworms’ contribution to the world’s grain harvest matches that of Russia, according to a study documenting their enormous role in food production.

This amounts to 140 millions of tonnes of food a year, researchers said, which would make earthworms the fourth largest global producer if they were a country. Russia produced 150m tonnes in 2022 and expects to produce 120m tonnes this year.

The soil-dwelling invertebrates contribute to 6.5% of grain harvests, according to the study, published in Nature Communications this week. Crops include rice, maize, wheat and barley. If an average loaf of bread is made up of 15 slices, this means one per loaf depends on worms’ activity to be produced.

Earthworms contribute to the growing of 2.3% of legumes, which includes soya beans, peas, chickpeas and lentils. This is probably smaller because legumes can fix their own nitrogen, which makes them less dependent on worms, researchers said.

As worms burrow and feed underground, they break down organic matter and aerate soils, increasing fertility and making nutrients available for smaller organisms. They also help soils capture and retain water.

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/sep/29/earthworms-help-produce-as-much-grain-as-russia-say-researchers-aoe

[hlthe2b]

1. Since childhood, I used to pick up the earthworms washed up onto sidewalks in heavy rain & return

them to the wet grass/soil. Just because it seemed "right." Now, doubly so.

[MiHale]

2. Worm castings are a main ingredient...

in our garden. We use it in all our grow bags mixed in with perlite and vermiculite for drainage, worm castings and coco coir is an awesome substrate for veggies.

[NickB79]

3. And they destroy native boreal and temperate forests

Fun fact: there are no native earthworms around the Great Lakes, or Canada. They were wiped out by glaciers. The worms up here now in Minnesota are European and Asian species, and they destroy forests of maple, aspen, pine and oak by eating away the leaf litter native tree seedlings need to germinate in