Evidence of the role of earthworms in the regeneration of compacted soils under field conditions

At the INRA Estrées-Mons experimental site, the possible role of earthworm in the regeneration of compacted soils was studied in a reduced tillage plot where a compaction event was done using a 8-tons tractor on a wet soil. Earthworm communities and earthworm burrow systems were then studied either 2 weeks after or 8 or 24 months after the compaction in the control or compacted zone. Earthworms were observed to recolonise the compacted zone in less than 8 months whereas the regeneration of earthworm burrows was a slower process under field conditions