While earthworm inoculation is viewed as a promising strategy to accelerate soil formation and ecosystem development in post-mining substrates, limited studies are field-based and focus on the influence of earthworms on microbial communities. This study investigated the effects of earthworm inoculations on soil microbial catabolic profiles, microbial community structure and physical properties. Large (1 m) macrocosms were filled with 60–80 cm mine tailings and 40 cm of organic-rich engineered soil (SOM 8.5 g/kg) and inoculated treatments of: (1) without earthworms (Tc), (2) with one endogeic species () (T), 5.8 g/m, (3) with a mix of anecic species sp., and (T), 10.5 g/m (4) with two species of two ecological groups, the endogeic and the epigeic (T), 4.0 g/m. Earthworm survival was not evaluated due to the large container size and logistics. After six months, soil catabolic profile (MicroResp™), community structure (PLFA and NLFA), and soil physicochemical properties were analysed. MicroResp™ showed that multiple substrate-induced respiration (9.2 μg CO–C g soil h) and microbial biomass (1.5 mg/kg soil) were higher in the treatment with endogeic and epigeic worms. The decomposition rate (k) of 0.1 was also higher than treatments with no earthworms. Water holding capacity, bulk density, aggregate stability and labile carbon showed no significant difference over time and among treatments. Overall, earthworm inoculation positively influenced microbial respiration. These findings showing the role of earthworms on microbial activity and community structure in soil covers have significant implications for management of ecosystem processes and sustainability in post-mining sites. However, the study also highlights the need for extended monitoring periods under natural field conditions to fully comprehend the complex interactions between earthworm ecological groups and microbial functionality.

中文翻译：

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尾矿修复土壤覆盖处理中蚯蚓对微生物群落结构、功能和土壤性质的影响

虽然蚯蚓接种被认为是加速采矿后基质中土壤形成和生态系统发展的一种有前景的策略，但基于实地的研究有限，并且重点关注蚯蚓对微生物群落的影响。本研究调查了蚯蚓接种对土壤微生物分解代谢特征、微生物群落结构和物理性质的影响。大型（1 m）宏观世界充满了 60-80 cm 尾矿和 40 cm 富含有机物的工程土壤（SOM 8.5 g/kg），并进行了以下接种处理：（1）无蚯蚓（Tc），（2）有一种内生物种 () (T)，5.8 g/m，(3) 与非内生物种混合，以及 (T)，10.5 g/m (4) 包含两个生态群的两个物种，内生物种和外生物种(T)，4.0 克/平方米。由于集装箱尺寸和物流都较大，因此没有评估蚯蚓的存活率。六个月后，对土壤分解代谢特征 (MicroResp™)、群落结构（PLFA 和 NLFA）和土壤理化性质进行了分析。MicroResp™表明，在内生和外生蠕虫处理中，多重底物诱导的呼吸（9.2 μg CO–C g 土壤·h）和微生物生物量（1.5 mg/kg 土壤）更高。0.1 的分解速率（k）也高于没有蚯蚓的处理。持水能力、堆积密度、团聚稳定性和活性碳随着时间的推移和处理之间没有显着差异。总体而言，蚯蚓接种对微生物呼吸产生积极影响。这些发现显示了蚯蚓对土壤覆盖层微生物活动和群落结构的作用，对采矿后场地的生态系统过程管理和可持续性具有重大影响。然而，该研究还强调需要在自然野外条件下延长监测期，以充分理解蚯蚓生态群与微生物功能之间的复杂相互作用。