Historical Perspectives on the Study of Earthworms: A Global Issue

Earthworms are often cited to be the emblem of soil health and have become a global focus of research initiatives within agricultural science, with large monitoring programs and citizen science projects occurring worldwide. There are over 6000 species of identified earthworms, and they can be found in the majority of ecosystems globally, with invasive earthworms also found in unexpected regions such as the arctic. Earthworms do not always have a central role within soil health, and the diversity of interrelationships with the soil and wider ecology is discussed. In this chapter, an overview of the global perspectives of earthworm ecology and research will be presented under the headings: “Training of Taxonomists,” “Taxonomic Tools,” “Parthenogenesis in Taxonomy,” “Earthworm Surveys,” “Life Histories,” “Modern Techniques,” “Earthworms in Waste Management,” and “Plain Language and Less Esotery.”