Main content

The earthworm dilemma: good for the soil, bad for the climate?

Earthworms help to make our soil healthy and increase crop yields but research suggests they can also increase CO2 emissions. Ingrid Lubbers, from the University of Wageningen in the Netherlands, has studied the positive impact that earthworms could have on food production but as she explains, there is also a downside, what is known as the earthworm dilemma, which means the same processes which improve the soil also release more carbon into the atmosphere.

(Image: Worms, Credit: Getty Images.)

Release date:

Duration:

3 minutes