Soil partitioning effect of an earthworm burrow system

Summary Through the simulation of an earthworm burrow system and the calculation of the shortest pathway from the bottom of the system to the surface, using a succession of burrows, it is shown that the borrow system leads to a partition of soil space. The characteristics of the resulting heterogeneity, the size of this partitioning and the length of the shortest pathways are discussed with regard to the functional relationship between the burrow system and the soil.Dedicated to the late Prof. Dr. M. S. Ghilarov