What is the ‘point’ of earthworms? If they all disappeared tomorrow, would there be any impact? (Other than a food source loss for some animals)

Question

As above. Sorry if this is a silly question!

I realise there is no ‘point’ to any particular animal or plant, but you often find that various species provide some sort of benefit (e.g. plants giving out oxygen, those birds that clean crocodiles’ teeth, spiders eat a lot of flies).

I just wondered if worms are particularly ‘useful’, because they don’t seem to do much from what I can tell

In: 170

Answer 1

They tremendously help to maintain the ecosystem by enabling better and deeper water penetration in the soil.
How so? Simply by digging all these tunnels underground, which help the water to evenly spread and to reach deeper, which in turn is vital for the vast majority of plants (including trees of course).