ABSTRACT
Bioremediation has become a common means of removing pesticide residues from soil and thus reducing their toxicity; a methodology that involves soil organisms, mainly microorganisms and plants, to facilitate the transformation and degradation (or immobilization) of environmental contaminants. However, in the last decade, soil fauna are being integrated in the bioremediation actions for recovering polluted soils and maintaining its quality at a long-term scale. In this chapter, it is highlighted the importance of a group of soil organisms that have great potential in the bioremediation of contaminated soils, i.e., earthworms. The chapter is divided into four sections. The first two sections provide an overview of pesticide consumption worldwide and the main impacts of pesticides on the agroecosystem. The third section will examine how earthworms can decrease the concentration and toxicity of pesticide residues in soil. The final section will summarize the key findings of bioremediation of pesticide-contaminated soils by using earthworms and will describe new lines of exciting research for the coming years.
