Characteristics of earthworm casts affecting herbicide sorption and movement
1996
Bolan, N.S. | Baskaran, S.
Various physical and chemical characteristics of earthworm casts collected from a laboratory incubation and a field experiment were examined in relation to their effect on the sorption and the movement of three 14C-labelled ionic herbicides: atrazine, 2.4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, and metsulforon methyl. The earthworm casts contained higher levels of fine fractions and total and soluble C. This is attributed to the grading action of the earthworm gut and selective feeding on zones with higher organic matter and fine size fractions. The earthworm casts had a higher pH than the source soil, resulting in a higher number of surface negative charges. The earthworm casts sorbed higher amounts of herbicides than the source soil, mainly due to the increases in the amount of organic C and fine size fractions. The increased sorption of herbicides by the casts resulted in decreased leaching.
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