U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 close



Research
                Research Home
                            National Programs
                            Research Projects
                            Scientific Manuscripts
                            International Engagement
                            Scientific Software/Models
                            Databases and Datasets
                            Office of Scientific Quality Review
            Media
                News & Features
                            Multimedia
                            Briefing Room
                            Down on the Farm
                            Press Room
                            Science in Your Shopping Cart
                            Scientific Discoveries
                            Tellus
                            Under the Microscope
            About ARS
                About ARS Home
                            Staff Directory
                            Labs and Research Centers (Map)
                            Headquarter Offices
                            Organizational Chart
                            Employee Services (REE Employees Only)
                            Office of Outreach, Diversity, and Equal Opportunity
            Work With Us
                Work With Us Home
                            ARS Vacancies at USAJOBS
                            Careers at ARS Information
                            Scientific Collaborations
                            Extramural Agreements
                            1890 Faculty Research Sabbatical ProgramSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home News & Events News Articles Research News 2008





- ARS News & Events
- AgResearch Magazine
- Image Gallery
- News
- Search News & Events
- Pesticide Drift May Endanger Pollinators
- ARS Seeks a Fire Ant Fix
- Scientific Discoveries 2024
- ARS Featured Photos
- Down on the Farm
- Facebook Live Events
- Food and Nutrition Research Briefs
- News Archive
- Science in Your Shopping Cart
- Scientific Discoveries
- Social Media
- Under the Microscope
- AgResearch magazine
- ARS at Work
- ARS Memorial Lectures
- ARS Science Hall of Fame
- Citrus Disease (Huanglongbing)
- Contact Office of Communications
- Plant Hardiness Zone Map
- Mobile Apps
- Public Affairs Contacts
- Publications and Other Resources
- USDA Blog
- Videos

Archived Page
 This page has been archived and is being provided for reference purposes only. The page is no longer being updated, and therefore, links on the page may be invalid.
 Photo: EarthwormThe right earthworms can make home septic systems work better. Photo courtesy of Flagstaffotos.For further reading
Wormholes—yet another avenue for pollution?
A high-tech look at soil composition Role of Earthworms in Soil Explored Don Comis  The right earthworms can make home septic systems work better. The wrong ones could do the opposite. That’s the finding in a study of worm populations living in the soil near trenches receiving septic tank flow outside five single family homes in Arkansas. Carrie L. Hawkins of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville performed the study in collaboration with Agricultural Research Service (ARS) soil scientist Martin J. Shipitalo of the North Appalachian Experimental Watershed in Coshocton, Ohio. The scientists found that the worms were favoring the area near the trenches because they were feeding on the household wastes discharged in the trenches. They found fives species of earthworms. None of the species were deep-burrowers like nightcrawlers. Their burrowing near the surface actually helped the septic wastewater spread through the soil more evenly, resulting in better cleansing of the water. Had they been nightcrawlers, the worm burrows might have drained the trenches so fast that it would bypass the soil filtering. The results of this study will be published in the journal Applied Soil Ecology and are currently online. The earthworm study is part of a longstanding series of worm studies across the country by Shipitalo, ARS colleagues at Coshocton and elsewhere, and cooperating university scientists. This body of earthworm knowledge is one of many aspects of ARS research on soils that is incorporated into the Smithsonian Institution's Soil Exhibition, which opens on July 19 and ends December 31, 2010. The exhibition is at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., and is called "Dig it! The Secrets of Soils." Ted Zobeck and Michael Russelle, at ARS labs in Texas and Minnesota, respectively, are state liaisons for the exhibit. ARS scientists at the National Soil Tilth Laboratory in Ames, Iowa, contributed heavily to the exhibition, as did the late Dennis Linden in Minnesota. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is a lead sponsor of the exhibition through the Soil Science Society of America. ARS is a scientific research agency of the USDA.


Return to top


Research
                            Media
                            About ARS
                            Work With Us


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov