Editors: Dr. Mani Jayakumar

Dr. Natchimuthu Karmegam (2022)

ISBN: 978-93-94174-05-4

Heavy Metals (HMs) Dynamics During Vermicomposting of Organic Wastes: Current Understanding and Future Prospects

Tridip Boruah and Hemen Deka*

Department of Botany, Ecology and Environmental Remediation Laboratory, Gauhati University, Guwahati-14, Assam, India

Vermicomposting is a mesophilic process that involves the combined interaction of earthworms and microbes resulting in efficient stabilization of large quantities of organic waste. The end product of the vermicomposting process is a well-known commodity for not only increasing the soil fertility but also amplifying the biomass of beneficial microbial populations while reducing the unwanted harmful microbes. Heavy metal toxicity is one of the major growing concerns in the vermicomposting systems because not only it has an adverse effect on plants but it also destabilizes the microbial community responsible for plant growth and development. Therefore it is necessary to understand the distribution, mobility, transport, bioavailability, uptake and the ultimate fate of heavy metals in the vermicomposting system to gain further knowledge about the ecotoxicity of vermicompost. This chapter will focus on the heavy metals (HMs) toxicity of vermicompost to understand the mechanism of heavy metal dynamics in the vermicomposting system following the degradation pathways of HMs in the vermicomposting systems; along with that the role of microbes and earthworms in the detoxification of heavy metals.

*Corresponding author; e-mail: hemendeka@gauhati.ac.in

Cite this Chapter: Boruah, T., Deka, H., 2022. Heavy Metals (HMs) Dynamics During Vermicomposting of Organic Wastes: Current Understanding and Future Prospects. In: M. Jayakumar and N. Karmegam (Eds.), Recent Trends in Bioresource Management for Greener Environment. Excellent Publishers, India. pp. 96-113. doi: https://doi.org/10.20546/978-93-94174-05-4_7