Don’t Forget the Worms in a Dry Year
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Earthworms do not hold press conferences, but if they did, this summer’s message would be simple: a little moisture, please. The Irish Times highlights how drought is bad news for earthworm populations, which are already under pressure globally despite their outsized role as soil ecosystem engineers.
Farmers know earthworms as the night-shift crew of soil health. They tunnel, mix organic matter, improve drainage, help roots explore deeper, and support nutrient cycling. A field rich with worm casts is often a field with good structure and biological life — the kind of soil that handles both downpours and dry spells better than tired, compacted ground.
Drought pushes worms deeper or into dormancy, and prolonged dry conditions can reduce populations. The trouble is that when worm activity slows, soil loses some of its natural repair crew just when it needs resilience most. It is a small creature with a big job, like a tiny ploughman working for free.
Practical steps are familiar but worth repeating: keep soil covered, reduce unnecessary tillage, return organic matter, avoid compaction, and use mulches or cover crops where they fit the system. Livestock producers can support worm life through careful grazing management that maintains ground cover and feeds soil biology with manure and root turnover.
The worm lesson is really a soil lesson. Drought resilience is not built in the week the rain stops. It is built over seasons, with every decision that protects organic matter, roots, pores, and biology. Treat the worms well, and they will repay you in the quiet currency of better soil.
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The Irish Times - Read original articleMore from today's edition
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