Biomass and phosphorus contents of some soil invertebrates

Data on the biomass, numbers and phosphorus content of three soil invertebrate families Enchytraeidae, Dorylaimidae and Elateridae are presented. The invertebrate specimens were from the Matador Canadian grassland site of the International Biological Programme. The soil invertebrates accounted for a small fraction of the total soil biomass but their role in P transformations seem to be relatively more important. P analyses indicated that of the total P in the invertebrate tissues less than half was present in organic combination and over half was measured in the inorganic form.