Summary
An investigation was carried out to analyze the chemical composition and enzymatic activity of five worm casts obtained from various animal dungs and municipal waste. The E4/E6 values for humic and fulvic acids were higher in all worm casts than in a typical Umbrian soil. Comparisons between worm cast, substrate and soil IR and NMR spectra demonstrated the humifying capacity of worms. Enzyme activity was high in all casts and only dehydrogenase seemed to be affected by lead concentration.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bollettino della Società Italiana Scienza del Suolo (SISS) 1976 Ed. G Caponi, Firenze (Italy) 10, 20–55.
Bremner J M and Keeney D R 1966 Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc. 30, 577–582.
Browman M G and Tabatabai M A 1978 Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 42, 284–290.
Chen Y, Senesi N and Schnitzer M 1977 Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 41, 352–358.
Chendrayan K, Adhya T K and Sethunathan N 1980 Soil Biol. Biochem. 12, 271–273.
Doelman P and Haanstra L 1979 Soil Biol. Biochem. 11, 271–273.
Edwards C A and Heath G W 1963In Soil Organisms. Eds. J, Doeksen and J. Van Der Drift, North Holland, Amsterdam, pp 76–84.
Federici F and D'Elia M 1983 Enzyme Microb. Technol. 5, 225–226.
Hess P R 1971 A Textbook of Soil Chemical Analysis. Ed. J. Murray.
Isaac R A and Kerber J D 1971In Instrumental Methods for Analysis of Soils and Plant Tissue. Eds L M Walsh, Soil Sci. Soc. Am., Madison W 1.
Kononova M M 1966 Soil Organic Matter. Pergamon Press, London.
Roberge M R 1978In Soil Enzymes. Ed. R G Burns., Academic Press, London, pp 341–369.
Ruggiero P, Interesse F S, Cassidei L and Sciacovelli O 1980 Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 44, 603–609.
Schnitzer M and Gupta U C 1965 Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc. 29, 274–277.
Schnitzer M and Khan S U 1972 Humic Substances in the Environment. Ed. Dekker M, New York, pp 57–60.
Tabatabai M A and Bremner J M 1969 Soil Biol. Biochem. 1, 301–307.
Tabatabai M A and Bremner J M 1970 Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc. 34, 225–229.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Research work supported by CNR, Italy. Special grant I.P.R.A.-Sub-project 1. Paper N. 94.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Businelli, M., Perucci, P., Patumi, M. et al. Chemical composition and enzymic activity of some worm casts. Plant Soil 80, 417–422 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02140048
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02140048