ABSTRACT
The importance of earthworms in the breakdown of organic matter and the release of the nutrients that it contains has been known for a long time (Darwin 1881). It has been demonstrated clearly that some species of earthworms are specialized to live specifically in decaying organic matter and can degrade it into fine particulate materials, rich in available nutrients, with considerable commercial potential as plant growth media soil amendments (Edwards and Bohlen 1996). For instance, earthworms are able to process sewage sludges and solids from wastewater (Neuhauser et al. 1988); brewery wastes (Butt 1993); processed potato wastes (Edwards 1983); waste from the paper industries (Butt 1993); wastes from supermarkets and restaurants (Edwards 1995a,b); animal wastes from poultry, pigs, cattle, sheep, goats, horses, and rabbits (Edwards et al. 1985; Edwards 1988); as well as horticultural residues from dead plants, yard wastes (Edwards 1995a,b), and wastes from the mushroom industry (Edwards 1988).
