Nematodes Relevance in Soil Quality Management and their Significance as Biomarkers in Aquatic Substrates: Review

Background: The interaction of man with the ecosystem is a major factor causing environmental pollution and its attendant consequences such as climate change in our world today. Patents relating to nematodes’ relevance in soil quality management and their significance as biomarkers in aquatic substrates were reviewed. Nematodes are useful in rapid, easy and inexpensive method for testing the toxicity of substance (e.g. aquatic substrates). Objective: This review paper sets out to examine and discuss the issue of soil pollution, functions of nematodes in soil and aquatic substrates as well as bio-indicators in soil health management in terrestrial ecology. Methods: The information used were on the basis of secondary sources from previous research. Conclusion: It is abundantly clear that the population dynamics of plant parasitic or free-living nematodes have useful potentials as biomonitor for soil health and other forms of environmental contamination through agricultural activities, industrial pollution and oil spillage, and the analysis of nematode community structure could be used as complementary information obtained from conventional soil testing approaches.