Dublin - Earthworms provide services to Ireland worth over €700-million (about R829-million) a year, according to a government-commissioned study on Monday. The environment ministry's 197-page report, Benefits and Costs of Biodiversity in Ireland, investigates the social and economic aspects of biodiversity in the country. "By drawing a comparison between the value of ecosystem services provided by biodiversity and the cost of implementing biodiversity protection policies, the authors established a marginal value of biodiversity to Ireland or at least €2,6-billion a year," said Environment Minister John Gormley. "The report has estimated that the value of the humble earthworm to Ireland to be in the region of €700-million per annum for the services it provides in removing dead matter and releasing nutrients back to the soil." Ireland has a national herd of about seven million cattle and the report says worms perform a "valuable function" in dung burial in a situation where a cow can produce over nine tonnes of waste per year.
