CULTIVATION OF APORRECTODEA CALIGINOSA (Savigny, 1826) IN VERMICULTURE

Restoration of degraded terrestrial ecosystems is impossible without restoration of soil fertility, including the creation of an appropriate soil structure. Reintroduction of natural soil-forming organisms among soil biota is an ecologically correct, but methodically insufficiently developed technology, especially on a large scale, which is necessary to achieve the goals of adaptation of terrestrial ecosystems to climate change and restoration after disturbances. In this regard, there is a need for artificial breeding of a number of species and groups of soil invertebrates. The objective of this study is to find optimal conditions for breeding the endogeic species of earthworms Aporrectodea caliginosa in vermiculture. The studies were conducted at the «EcoCherv» vermifarm in the Sverdlovsk region (Yekaterinburg, Russia) from 2022 to 2024. Two series of experiments on breeding worms on lowland peat (pH 4.8–5.5) with different humidity (60% and 75(80)%) and the absence/addition of fertilizer (grass granules from a mixture of meadow grasses) were carried out. Breeding of A. caliginosa with the addition of grass granules and increased substrate humidity (75–80%) was successful. Over 11 months, the number of worms increased more than 8-fold (taking into account cocoons, 20-fold). The life cycle was five months. This work will be continued to obtain a large breeding population of A. caliginosa. To maintain genetic diversity and sustainability, it is planned to renew part of the population (up to 10% of the total number) by introducing individuals from natural habitats once every two years.