| Abstract: | We investigated the effects of the endogenous Allolobophora molleri earthworm on the enzyme activities, the humus–enzyme complexes and the microbial community of a Plagic Antrosol soil which had been amended with different sources of organic matter. During a period of 300 days, the soil was amended with the organic fraction of a municipal solid waste at a rate of 10% or poultry manure at a rate of 7·6%, respectively, in order to apply the same amount of organic matter to the soil. At the end of the experiment, soil enzymatic activities were highest in organic amended soils with earthworms, followed by the organic‐amended soils without earthworms. The reason being, the earthworms stimulate microbial action by increasing the surface area for microbial colonization of the substrate and enzymatic through comminuting the organic wastes. The evolution of soil humus–enzyme complexes indicated the highest values of enzymes adsorbed to humus with the highest humic acid contents. The presence of A. molleri in organic‐amended soils significantly (p < 0·05) increased the soil microbial diversity. Possibly, the progressive breakdown of organic matter applied to the soil by earthworms does appear to produce new organic substrates which therefore promote the appearance of new microorganisms in the soil capable of degrading these substrates. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
