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Abstract: The amendment of vermicompost is a management practice that may contribute to sustainable agroecosystems by making them less dependent on inorganic fertilizers. However, little is known about the impact of this practice on soil biota and the flow of microbes to the water system. Using a 30-days laboratory experiment, we investigated the development of the peregrine earthworm species, Dichogaster bolaui, in presence of compost or vermicompost, and assessed its impact on the flow of bacteria and viruses to the water system. The dynamics of soil bacterial diversity (assessed by DGGE) and concentration in water together with their viral parasites were also assessed through an incubation of solution during 5 days (comparison between T 0 and T 5). This study highlights the rapid development of D. bolaui after compost amendment. However, the low quality of vermicompost and the absence of organic amendment in the control treatment allowed the survival but not the development of D. bolaui. Higher bacterial and viral abundances in compost and vermicompost substrates led to more important transfer of these communities from the soil to the water system in comparison with the untreated soil, but no difference was observed between compost and vermicompost treatments. In terms of abundance, the bacterial to virus ratio was rather stable in the soil solution but no such a relation was observed in the soil. A reduction of bacterial diversity (OTU) was measured at the end of the incubation period for all the treatments. However, higher number of OTU at T 5 for the compost treatment suggested a better adaptation and/or resistance of soil bacteria to the aquatic system, in comparison with the control treatment. Vermicompost treatment led to intermediate conclusions. The presence of D. bolaui significantly reduced bacterial abundance in the soil organic layer (both compost and vermicompost treatments) but it did not influence bacterial and viral abundance in water, suggesting independent processes. Earthworms buffered bacterial DGGE patterns after five days of incubation, probably through a facilitation of soil bacterial groups more able to resist in solution. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Earthworms are important regulators of soil structure and soil organic matter (SOM) dynamics; however, quantifying their influence on SOM cycling in tropical ecosystems remains little studied. Simulated rainfall was used to disrupt casts produced by Amynthas khami and their surrounding soil (control) into a range of small sized aggregates (50–250, 250–500, 500–2000 and 2000–5000 μm). To gain insight into how earthworms influence SOM biogeochemical composition in the aggregates, we carried out elemental and stable isotope analysis, and analytical pyrolysis (Py GC/MS). We also characterized their lignin component after oxidation with cupric oxide (CuO). The C content of smaller size fractions (<500 μm) in the control soil was higher than in the larger fractions. Our study therefore suggests that the aggregate hierarchy concept, which is used to understand soil aggregates and SOM dynamics in temperate soils, may not be applicable to the tropical Acrisol studied here. Earthworms modified SOM organization in soil aggregates. Although the isotope analyses were useful for highlighting SOM enrichment in the earthworm casts, aggregate fractions could not be classified according to particle size. Molecular analyses were necessary to indicate that SOM in all size fractions of casts consisted of relatively undecomposed material. Protection of the most labile SOM structures occurred in the smallest aggregate size fraction (50–250 μm). Py GC/MS showed that earthworm casts and control aggregates <2000 μm could be clearly distinguished according to the molecular properties of their SOM. Aggregates larger than 2000 μm, however, were most probably composed of all fractions and were not different. As a consequence, our results indicate that studies to determine the impact of earthworms on SOM turnover in soil are spatially dependant on the scale of observation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study aimed at testing the capability of microbial community structure and abundance to be used as bioindicators of the origin of earthworm cast aggregates. Compact surface casts produced by Amynthas khami and surrounding aggregates lacking visible signs of biological activity (control) were left to disaggregate by natural rainfall and separated into four size classes (5–2, 2–0.5, 0.5–0.25 and <0.25 mm). The genetic structure and the abundance of the bacterial and fungal communities were characterized using B- and F-ARISA fingerprinting approach and quantitative PCR directly from DNA extracted from soil. Bacteria and to a lesser extent fungi were more abundant in casts than in control aggregates for all the size fractions. In addition, PCA carried out from B- and F-ARISA confirmed the different microbial properties between cast and control aggregates for all the aggregate size fractions. In conclusion, this study confirms the cryptic properties of earthworm casts when fragmented by the rain and the relevance of bacterial and fungal abundance and diversity as biological indicators of the origin of soil aggregates. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]