Earthworms have positive effects on soil structure, therefore their incorpo
ration during the process of soil reclamation is a sensible route towards t
he final restoration of a site. Over the past 20 years, 16 documented field
trials have been conducted in the United Kingdom. These trials took place
at locations with a number of previous uses, for example, landfill sites, s
teelworks and opencast mines. The species of earthworm used varied, as did
the techniques used for introducing them into the soil.
This paper assessed the suitability of the earthworms chosen for each trial
and, more importantly, trial outcomes. The most appropriate species were n
ot always selected (possibly due to availability) and the introduction tech
nique was not always the most appropriate for the site. Monitoring of trial
s generally occurred over relatively short periods of time (possibly due to
limited funding). It is evident that more recent trials were not always in
formed by previous events. It is suggested that work of this nature may onl
y be viable if brought about through site-related legal obligations. Copyri
ght (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.