Occurrence of earthworms in relation to soil TC,TOC,TIC in Benghazi, Libya

Maher Haeba, Jan Kuta, Rami Gebril, Walid Awgie

Abstract


Benghazi city is the second biggest city in Libya and getting bigger promptly. The city surrounded by farms. However, urban invasion has decreased the agriculture area a lot. In this study, survey on earthworm and TOC around the city has been done. Existing of earthworm is highly related to TOC around the city. Earthworm around the city were in Bouatni ≥ Jarotha≥ El-Guarsha≥Hawari soil. The study show decline in the species in Hawari area. Four species of earthworm were identified around Benghazi city. These were Aporrectodeatrapezoides, Aporrectodearosea, Eiseniaandrei, and Microsolexdubius. A. trapezoids formed the dominant and most widespread species of Benghazi.E. Andrei was new record in the area. This can lead to using earthworms as bioindicators, which appears to be a useful way to classify soil quality. Harsh environmental conditions and low organic matter may not only limit reproduction but the survival of adult earthworms from year to year.


Keywords


Benghazi; Earthworm; Soil; TOC

Full Text:

HTML PDF EPUB XML

References


Barber, I., J. Bembridge, P. Dohmen, P. Edwards, F. Heimbach, R. Heusel, K. Romijn, and H. Rufli. 1998. Development and evaluation of triggers for earthworm toxicity testing with plant protection products. In Sheppard S, Bembridge J, Holmstrup M, Posthuma L, eds, Proceedings, Advances in Earthworm Ecotoxicology: 2nd International Workshop on Earthworm Ecotoxicology. April 2-5. Amsterdam, The Netherlands. SETAC, Pensacola, FL, USA. pp: 269–278.

Boucher, B. 1972. Lombriciens de France. Écologie et Systématique (n’hors-série). Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique. Annales de Zoologie-É cologie Animale.

Connor, G.O., and J. Qual. 1988. Double and Brown, in Earthworm Ecology, ed.C. Edwards, St. Lucie Press, Boca Raton. FL. pp: 179–211.

Csuzdi, C., and A. Zicsi. 2003. Earthworms of Hungary (Annelida: Oligochaeta; Lumbricidae). Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest.

Culy, M.D., and E.C. Berry. 1995. Toxicity of soil-applied granular insecticides to earthworm populations in cornfields. down to Earth. 50: 20–25.

Edwards, C.A., and P.J. Bohlen. 1996. Biology and Ecology of Earthworms. Chapman and Hall, London.

Hashem, A.R., and A.M. Al-Obaid. 1996. Effect of Cadmium on the Growth ofAspergillus flavus and Ulocladium chalmydosporum. Internat. J. Exper. Bot. 59(1/2):171-175.

Jordan, D., V.C. Hubbard, F. Ponder Jr, and E.C. Berry. 2000. The influence of soil compaction and the removal of organic matter on two native earthworms and soil properties in an oak-hickory forest. Biol. Fertil. Soils. 31:323–328.

Lee, K.E., 1985. Earthworms: Their Ecology and Relationships with Soil and Land Use. Academic Press, New York.

Nair, G.A., K.Y. Abdelgader, A.E. Muftah, M.F. Abdelsalam, and I.J. Maria. 2005. Occurrence and density of earthworms in relation to soil factors in Benghazi, Libya. Afr. J. Ecol. 43:150–154

Pelczar, M.J., E.C.S. Chan, and N.R. Krieg. 1993. Microbiology: Concept &Application International edition McGraw-Hill, USA. pp: 281-324.

Sims, R.W., and M.B. Gerard. 1999. Earthworms. Synopses of the British Fauna (New Series). No. 31 TheLinnean Society of London and the Estuarine and Coastal Sciences Association. London. p:169.

Sinha, B., T. Bhadauria, P.S. Ramakrishnan, K.G. Saxena, and R.K. Maikhuri. 2003. Impact of landscape modification on earthworm diversity and abundance in the Hariyali sacred landscape, Garhwal Himalaya. Pedobiologia. 47:357–370.


Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c)