ABSTRACT
The remarkable increase in agricultural productivity during the green revolution in developing Asian countries is now witnessing signs of exhaustion in productivity. Intensive agriculture practices with poor concerns of scientific methods and ecological facet led to trouncing of soil health, reduction of freshwater resources and agro-biodiversity. Vermicomposting 36is considered as an effective technique for sustainable organic waste management that involves both earthworms and microorganisms. Vermicomposting technology has a wider application in the field of sustainable agriculture by altering water, N and P cycles, carbon dynamics and seedbed characteristics. Earthworms are prevalent bio-indicators in soil and act as an eco-toxicological test species in the assessment of the consequences of chemicals in soil. Earthworm gut inhabits a large diversity of microorganisms with varied taxonomical affiliation and function. Greenhouse gas emissions in terms of kg CO2-eq per tonne of dry matter is less in vermicomposting than thermophilic composting. There are reports that earthworms decrease N2O emissions during composting; however, role of gut microbiome in denitrification and other physiological process is yet inexplicable. The amount of sequestered C in the soil can be increased by increasing earthworm density led to a reduced rate of atmospheric CO2 fortification by equalizing fossil fuel emission. This chapter broadly presents the role of earthworm and its gut microbiome in the acceleration of organic matter decomposition and greenhouse gas emission.
