02802naa a2200241 a 450000100080000000500110000800800410001910000200006024500750008026000090015550000830016452020970024765000160234465000170236065000120237765000190238965300140240865300220242265300220244470000150246670000170248177300620249819641332013-08-15       2013    bl uuuu     u00u1 u    #d1 aBARTZ, M. L. C.  aEarthworms as soil quality indicators in Brazilian no-tillage systems.  c2013  aSpecial issue: Progress and Priorities in Latin American Oligochaete Research.  aIt is well known that earthworm populations tend to increase under no-tillage (NT) practices, but abun- dances tend to be highly variable. In the present study, data from the literature together with those on earthworm populations sampled in six watersheds in SW Paraná State, Brazil, were used to build a clas- sification of the biological soil quality of NT systems based on earthworm density and species richness. Earthworms were collected in 34 farms with NT aging from 3 to 27 yr, in February 2010, using an adapta- tion of the TSBF (Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility) Program method (hand sorting of five 20 cm × 20 cm holes to 20 cm depth). Six forest sites were also sampled in order to compare abundances and species richness with the NT systems. Species richness in the 34 NT sites and in the 6 forests ranged from 1 to 6 species. Most earthworms encountered were exotics belonging to the genus Dichogaster ( D. saliens , D. gracilis , D. bolaui and D. affinis ) and native Ocnerodrilidae (mainly Belladrilus sp.), all of small individual size. In a few sites, individuals of the Glossoscolecidae ( P. corethrurus , Glossoscolex sp., Fimoscolex sp.) and Megascolecidae ( Amynthas gracilis ) families were also encountered, in low densities. Urobenus brasilien- sis (Glossoscolecidae) were found only in the forest fragments. In the NT farms, earthworm abundance ranged from 5 to 605 ind m ? 2 and in the forest sites, from 10 to 285 ind m ? 2 . The ranking of the NT soil biological quality, based on earthworm abundance and species richness was: poor, with &lt25 individuals per m ? 2 and 1 sp.; moderate, with ? 25?100 individuals per m ? 2 and 2?3 sp.; good, with &gt100?200 indi- viduals per m ? 2 and 4?5 sp.; excellent, with &gt200 individuals per m ? 2 and &gt6 sp. About 60% of the 34 farms fell into the poor to moderate categories based on this classification, so further improvements to the NT farm?s management system are needed to enhance earthworm populations. Nevertheless, further validation of this ranking system is necessary to allow for its wider-spread use.  aOligochaeta  asoil quality  aMinhoca  aPlantio Direto  aEarthworm  aNo-tillage system  aQualidade do solo1 aPASINI, A.1 aBROWN, G. G.  tApplied Soil Ecologygv. 69, (nesp), p. 39-48, July 2013.