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Vermicomposting
Vermicompost (vermi-compost) is the product of the decomposition process using various species of worms, usually Eisenia foetida, red wigglers, Enchytraeus buchholzi, white worms, and other earthworms, to create a mixture of decomposing vegetable or food waste, bedding materials, and vermicast. This process is called vermicomposting, with the rearing of worms for this purpose is called vermiculture. Vermicast (also called worm castings, worm humus, worm poop, worm manure, or worm faeces) is the end-product of the breakdown of organic matter by earthworms. These excreta have been shown to contain reduced levels of contaminants and a higher saturation of nutrients than the organic materials before vermicomposting. Vermicompost contains water-soluble nutrients which may be extracted as vermiwash and is an excellent, nutrient-rich organic fertilizer and soil conditioner.Coyne, Kelly and Erik Knutzen. ''The Urban Homestead: Your Guide to Self-Sufficient Living in the Heart of the City ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eisenia Fetida
''Eisenia fetida'', known under various common names such as manure worm, redworm, brandling worm, panfish worm, trout worm, tiger worm, red wiggler worm, etc., is a species of earthworm adapted to Decomposition, decaying organic material. These worms thrive in rotting vegetation, compost, and manure. They are epigean, rarely found in soil. In this trait, they resemble ''Lumbricus rubellus''. The red wiggler is reddish-brown in color, has small rings around its body, and has a yellowish tail. Groups of bristles (called setae) on each segment of the worm move in and out to grip nearby surfaces as it stretches and contracts its muscles to push itself forward or backward. ''E. fetida'' worms are native to Europe, but have been introduced (both intentionally and unintentionally) to every other continent except Antarctica. ''E. fetida'' also possesses a unique natural defense system in its coelomic fluid; cells called coelomocytes secrete a protein called lysenin, which is a por ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Permaculture
Permaculture is an approach to land management and settlement design that adopts arrangements observed in flourishing natural ecosystems. It includes a set of design principles derived using Systems theory, whole-systems thinking. It applies these principles in fields such as regenerative agriculture, town planning, rewilding (conservation biology), rewilding, and community resilience. The term was coined in 1978 by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren, who formulated the concept in opposition to modern industrialized methods, instead adopting a more traditional or "natural" approach to agriculture. Multiple thinkers in the early and mid-20th century explored no-dig gardening, no-till farming, and the concept of "permanent agriculture", which were early inspirations for the field of permaculture. Mollison and Holmgren's work from the 1970s and 1980s led to several books, starting with ''Permaculture One'' in 1978, and to the development of the "Permaculture Design Course" which has ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vermifilter
A vermifilter (also vermi-digester or lumbrifilter) is an aerobic treatment system, consisting of a biological reactor containing media that filters organic material from wastewater. The media also provides a habitat for aerobic bacteria and composting earthworms that purify the wastewater by removing pathogens and oxygen demand. The "trickling action" of the wastewater through the media dissolves oxygen into the wastewater, ensuring the treatment environment is aerobic for rapid decomposition of organic substances. Vermifilters are most commonly used for sewage treatment and for agro-industrial wastewater treatment. Vermifilters can be used for primary, secondary and tertiary treatment of sewage, including blackwater and greywater in on-site systems and municipal wastewater in large centralised systems. Vermifilters are used where wastewater requires treatment before being safely discharged into the environment. Treated effluent is disposed of to either surface or subsu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Earthworm
An earthworm is a soil-dwelling terrestrial invertebrate that belongs to the phylum Annelida. The term is the common name for the largest members of the class (or subclass, depending on the author) Oligochaeta. In classical systems, they were in the order of Opisthopora since the male pores opened posterior to the female pores, although the internal male segments are anterior to the female. Theoretical cladistic studies have placed them in the suborder Lumbricina of the order Haplotaxida, but this may change. Other slang names for earthworms include "dew-worm", "rainworm", "nightcrawler", and "angleworm" (from its use as angling hookbaits). Larger terrestrial earthworms are also called megadriles (which translates to "big worms") as opposed to the microdriles ("small worms") in the semiaquatic families Tubificidae, Lumbricidae and Enchytraeidae. The megadriles are characterized by a distinct clitellum (more extensive than that of microdriles) and a vascular system ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eisenia Hortensis
The European nightcrawler (''Dendrobaena hortensis'') is a medium-small earthworm averaging about 1.5 g when fully grown. Generally blueish, pink-grey in color with a banded or striped appearance, the tips of their tails are often cream or pale yellow. When the species has not been feeding, it is pale pink. The species is usually found in deep woodland litter and garden soils that are rich in organic matter in European countries. ''D. hortensis'' is sold primarily as a bait worm, but its popularity as a composting worm is increasing. It was considered part of '' Eisenia'' until 2003. It is also formerly considered part of the similar '' Dendrobaena veneta'', but now just part of the species complex. Both are useful compost worms. The two species are probably not distinguished in vermicomposting. In general, the ''E. hortensis'' name is more common in North America while the ''D. veneta'' name is more common in Europe. Etymology The former genus ''Eisenia'' is named after Swedis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lumbricus Rubellus
''Lumbricus rubellus'' is a species of earthworm that is related to ''Lumbricus terrestris''. It is usually reddish brown or reddish violet, iridescent dorsally, and pale yellow ventrally. They are usually about to in length, with around 95–120 segments. Their native distribution was mainland Europe and the British Isles, but they have currently spread worldwide in suitable habitats. Size and appearance ''Lumbricus rubellus'', or the "red earthworm", ranges from to in length and has smooth, reddish, semi-transparent, flexible skin segmented into circular sections. Each segment contains four pairs of setae, or bristles, and the total number of segments per matured organism ranges from 95–105.Edwards, C.A., and Lofty J.R. (1972). ''Biology of earthworms''. Halsted Press, New York, NY. The segmentation of ''Lumbricus rubellus'' identifies the organism as a member of Phylum Annelida, while the enlarged segments towards the anterior of the organism called the clitellum denote ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soil Conditioner
A soil conditioner is a product which is added to soil to improve the soil’s physical qualities, usually its fertility (ability to provide nutrition for plants) and sometimes its mechanics. In general usage, the term "soil conditioner" is often thought of as a subset of the category soil amendments (or soil improvement, soil condition), which more often is understood to include a wide range of fertilizers and non-organic materials. In the context of construction soil conditioning is also called soil stabilization. Soil conditioners can be used to improve poor soils, or to rebuild soils which have been damaged by improper soil management. They can make poor soils more usable, and can be used to maintain soils in peak condition. Composition A wide variety of materials have been described as soil conditioners due to their ability to improve soil quality. Some examples include biochar, bone meal, blood meal, coffee grounds, compost, compost tea, coir, manure, straw, peat, spha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drilosphere
The drilosphere is the part of the soil influenced by earthworm secretions, burrowing and castings. Therefore, it is the fraction of soil which has gone through the digestive tract of earthworms, or the lining of an earthworm burrow. The average thickness of the drilosphere (lining of an earthworm burrow) is 2mm, but it can be much wider (about 8mm) around the burrows of litter-feeding earthworms. Through the drilosphere, earthworms influence soil microbial communities, with effects on microbial processes related to soil organic matter Soil organic matter (SOM) is the organic matter component of soil, consisting of plant and animal detritus at various stages of decomposition, cells and tissues of soil microbes, and substances that soil microbes synthesize. SOM provides numerou ... and nutrient dynamics.Earthworm Ecology By Clive Arthur Edwards. 2nd Ed. 2004. CRC Press. A study of one soil type found that contained within the drilosphere was 40 per cent of the aerobic (and 13 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eudrilus Eugeniae
''Eudrilus eugeniae'', also called the "African nightcrawler", is an earthworm species native to tropical west Africa and now widespread in warm regions under vermicompost; it is an excellent source of protein and has great pharmaceutical potential. Growth Fecundity, growth, maturation and biomass production were all significantly greater at 25 °C than 15°, 20°or 30°. The growth of individual earthworms increases as the population density lowers, but the greatest overall earthworm biomass production occurs at the highest population density. The greatest number of cocoons per week and the number of hatchlings per cocoon are obtained at 25 °C. Cocoons of ''E. eugeniae'' hatched in only 12 days at 25 °C, and the worms reach sexual maturity in as little as 35 days after hatching. Etymology Named after Johan Gustaf Hjalmar Kinberg's Swedish survey ship, the 'Eugenie'. Life cycle Throughout its life cycle, ''E. eugeniae'' grows much more rapidly than ''Eis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Epigean
Epigeal, epigean, epigeic and epigeous are biological terms describing an organism's activity above the soil surface. In botany, a seed is described as showing epigeal germination when the cotyledons of the germinating seed expand, throw off the seed shell and become photosynthetic above the ground. The opposite kind, where the cotyledons remain non-photosynthetic, inside the seed shell, and below ground, is hypogeal germination. The terms epigean, epigeic or epigeous are used for organisms that crawl (epigean), creep like a vine (epigeal), or grow (epigeous) on the soil surface: they are also used more generally for animals that neither burrow nor swim nor fly. The opposite terms are hypogean, hypogeic and hypogeous. An epigeal nest is a term used for a termite mound, the above ground nest of a colony of termite Termites are a group of detritivore, detritophagous Eusociality, eusocial cockroaches which consume a variety of Detritus, decaying plant material, generally ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
