• The Korean Journal of Soil Zoology
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.63-70
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• 2000

The effect of combinations of temperature, water column height and extraction time onthe efficiency of wet funnel extraction methods for enumerating Enchytraeids in a blanket bog peat soil from Moor House, Cumbria, England were investigated. The optimal conditions for extracting enchytraeids from this study were found to be a water surface temperature of 35$^{\circ}C$, with an extraction time of 6 hours, regardless of initial water temperature and water level in the extraction funnel. The original O'Connor method (40-45$^{\circ}C$ for 3 hours extraction and gradually increasing heating) yielding a high variation in the extraction efficiency, largely due to the comparatively higher temperature and shorter extraction time than this method. Attempts to extract without heat over longer periods showed very low extraction efficiencies for this highly organic blanket bog soil when compared with any of the heating wet funnel methods.