Abundance and Impact on Soil Properties of Cathedral and Lenticular Termite Mounds in Southern Indian Woodlands

Jouquet, Pascal; Airola, Etienne; Guilleux, Nabila; Harit, Ajay; Chaudhary, Ekta; Grellier, Séraphine; Riotte, Jean

doi:10.1007/s10021-016-0060-5

Cited by 20 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…The similar particle size distribution between sheetings and their surrounding topsoil can be explained by the relatively homogeneous organization of the upper half meter of Vertisols (Sehgal, 2012), with the exception of the soil C content that can reach > 5% in the first few cm and can drop to a few % in deeper soil layers. For instance, 20 km way from our study site, Jouquet et al (2017) found a C content of 3.5% in the 0-5 cm soil layer of a Vertisol and 1.22% in their 30-70 cm soil layer. In our study, the lower C content in sheeting suggests that they were not made of soil collected in the topsoil but rather below 30 cm depth.…”

Section: Bioturbation By Termites and Soil Sheeting Propertiesmentioning

confidence: 65%

Effects of termite foraging activity on topsoil physical properties and water infiltration in Vertisol

Cheik

Bottinelli

Soudan

et al. 2019

Applied Soil Ecology

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In the tropics, termites are key litter decomposers and soil bioturbators. Termite foraging activity involves the production of sheetings and galleries that influence the physical, chemical and hydraulic properties of soils. The functional impacts of these biogenic structures and biopores have been acknowledged for a long time in soils dominated by 1:1 minerals. Less is known, however, on their functional impacts in soils dominated by 2:1 minerals, such as vertisol which represent 22% of the land surface in India. Therefore, an experiment was carried out in a vertisol in southern India where elephant (Elephas maximus) dung pats (ED) and Lantana camara twigs (LT) were applied on the ground and protected (+) or not (−) from termite activity. Termite activity was only measured below ED−, showing a clear preference for organic matter derived from elephant dung. Soil sheetings had similar properties to the surrounding topsoil, with the exception of their C content that was reduced. This result raised the question of the origin of the soil used by termites for covering ED. ED− was also associated with the presence of effective macropores up to 5 cm depth and a significant increase in water hydraulic conductivity (12-fold). However, the utilization of the coefficient of linear extensibility showed that these galleries were unstable and most likely short-lived. In conclusion, this study confirmed that the structure of soils dominated by 2:1 minerals is mainly controlled by physical processes (i.e., the shrinking and swelling of soils). This study also stresses the need to better understand the dynamic of termite galleries in soil and to quantify the origin and fate of organic matter in soil sheetings.

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Section: Bioturbation By Termites and Soil Sheeting Propertiesmentioning

confidence: 65%

Effects of termite foraging activity on topsoil physical properties and water infiltration in Vertisol

Cheik

Bottinelli

Soudan

et al. 2019

Applied Soil Ecology

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“…Termite mounds are often conspicuous features of tropical landscapes and, for this reason, their specific properties and abundance have been extensively studied (e.g., Moe et al, 2009;Horiuchi et al, 2014;Joseph et al, 2014;Sujada et al, 2014;Jouquet et al, 2017;Shanbhag et al, 2017;Muvengwi et al, 2018). Comparatively, the specific properties and abundance of soil sheetings have received much less attention, although it has been suggested that they represent several tons of soil ha -1 year -1 in some situations (Rouland et al, 2003;Ali et al, 2013;Harit et al, 2017a).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Litter Quality Affects Termite Sheeting Production and Water Infiltration in the Soil

Shanbhag¹,

Harit²,

Cheik³

et al. 2019

Sociobiology

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This study aimed to understand the relationship between termite food preferences and the ecological benefits derived from their activity in terms of soil dynamics and water infiltration. A field study was carried out for six months with different food baits (elephant dung, Acacia leaves, twigs and leaves of Lantana camara as well as Ficus religiosa, Pterocarpus marsupium, Prosopis juliflora, Michelia champaca, Azadirachta indica and Hevea brasiliensis wood stakes) installed on the soil surface in a semi-deciduous forest in southern India. At the end of the experiment we determined bait consumption rates and the amount of soil sheetings covering the different baits. Water infiltration rates were also measured using the Beerkan method. The initial infiltration rates (i.e. average of the first three infiltration rates) under the baits were compared to those at the end of the experiment (average of the last three infiltration rates when the steady state was reached). Three termite species, Odontotermes obesus, O. feae and Microtermes obesi, were found associated with some of the baits in the study area. Among the different baits, elephant dung and Acacia leaves were the most preferred and a relationship was observed between the quantity of soil sheetings and the bait consumption rate. Termite preference for elephant dung and Acacia leaves was also associated with higher water infiltration rates. However, this difference was only significant at the beginning of the experiment and no significant difference was measured once the steady state was reached. In conclusion, we showed that resource quality was of primary importance for soil sheeting production but that the influence of termites on water infiltration remained limited, most likely because of the low stability of their tunnels in the soil.

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“…In their role of bioturbators, termites affect soil properties temporally and spatially: they drive aggregate dynamics, modify clay mineralogy, and induce physical stability to enhance and sustain porosity and generate nutrient‐rich patches at the landscape level (Jouquet et al . , ; Harit et al . ).…”

Section: Ecosystem Services Provided By Termitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Bioturbation, or the disturbance of sediment layers by living things, is mainly carried out by termites in tropical soil. In their role of bioturbators, termites affect soil properties temporally and spatially: they drive aggregate dynamics, modify clay mineralogy, and induce physical stability to enhance and sustain porosity and generate nutrient-rich patches at the landscape level (Jouquet et al 2016(Jouquet et al , 2017Harit et al 2017b).…”

Section: Soil Looseningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Economic and ecological importance of termites: A global review

Govorushko

2018

Entomological Science

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In this review article, the positive and negative impacts of termites on ecosystems and human activities are examined. Various ecosystem services provided by termites – their importance as a food resource for humans, wildlife and domestic animals – are discussed, along with the use of these insects in scientific research and in folk and traditional medicine. Some insufficiently studied properties of termites (their ability to perceive the radiation of radioactive substances, electric fields and magnetic fields), as well as the use of termites in bionics, are described. Special attention is paid to the use of termite mounds for different purposes (e.g. in mineral deposit searches, in medical applications, as furnaces for copper smelting, for storage of some nuts, as burial sites, for gathering of edible mushrooms of the genus Termitomyces and as fertilizer). Examples of such use in different countries are given. This article reviews the activities of termites as pests of agriculture and forestry, including crops that are most affected, and termites as structural pests (e.g. wooden structures, household furniture, books and museum collections). Examples of termites’ malicious activities in different parts of the world are provided. Information on the invasions of termites is given, and the main areas of expansion of their habitat are described. The economic loss caused by termites in some countries and the world as a whole are presented. The article also lists the most economically important termite species in the world.

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Abundance and Impact on Soil Properties of Cathedral and Lenticular Termite Mounds in Southern Indian Woodlands

Cited by 20 publications

References 58 publications

Effects of termite foraging activity on topsoil physical properties and water infiltration in Vertisol

Effects of termite foraging activity on topsoil physical properties and water infiltration in Vertisol

Litter Quality Affects Termite Sheeting Production and Water Infiltration in the Soil

Economic and ecological importance of termites: A global review

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