Hmm, I was assuming the OP was extending the c elegans result to earthworms since I've never heard of c elegans aerating soil. And now that I go google it I'm seeing lots of stuff on c elegans requiring aerated soil but none on it doing it itself so I think I'm correct in my assumption?
c. elegans help maintain the decomposition pipeline, not soil aeration.
There are a few things that if they were lost globally would greatly affect the necessary process of decomposition.
A lot of what's written about c. elegans environment has been overturned. It was thought to be a soil nematode, but it's really most common in rotting fruit.
