Changes in the termite assemblage across a sequence of land-use systems in the rural area around Lamto Reserve in central Côte d’Ivoire

Dosso, Kanvaly; Deligne, Jean; Yeo, Kolo; Konaté, Souleymane; Linsenmair, K. Eduard

doi:10.1007/s10841-013-9588-2

Cited by 26 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…, Dosso et al . ). A decline of species richness with anthropogenic disturbance, especially in areas of intensive land‐use, was found on a global scale.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…ANTHROPOGENIC DISTURBANCE, SPECIES RICHNESS AND COMMUNITY ASSEMBLY IN TERMITES.-The impact of disturbance on termite diversity has been studied intensively in tropical forests along gradients ranging from primary rain forests to plantations and cleared forest areas (summarized in Davies et al 2003, see also Bourguignon et al 2011, Dosso et al 2013. A decline of species richness with anthropogenic disturbance, especially in areas of intensive land-use, was found on a global scale.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…, Dosso et al . ). Yet, the effects of disturbance on termites in drier savanna ecosystems are less clear.…”

mentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Hence, negative effects of anthropogenic disturbance on termites are likely to result in an accelerating deterioration of soil quality. Termite communities in rain forests are sensitive to habitat disturbance with a major drop in species richness on plantations or on cleared land lacking a closed canopy (Davies et al 2003, Dosso et al 2013). Yet, the effects of disturbance on termites in drier savanna ecosystems are less clear.…”

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confidence: 99%

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The Impact of Anthropogenic Disturbance on Assembly Patterns of Termite Communities

Hausberger

Korb

2016

Biotropica

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Intensification of land‐use threatens biodiversity, especially in tropical ecosystems that harbor the planet's highest species richness. This negative impact of anthropogenic disturbance on species numbers is well established, but the mechanisms underlying the community assembly processes are less well understood. Termites are of fundamental importance in tropical ecosystems where they are critical for nutrient recycling and species diversity. We tested the impact of anthropogenic disturbance on termite species diversity and assembly processes in a West African savanna applying the newest techniques of phylogenetic community analyses. Species richness dropped in areas of intensive land‐use and compositional similarity between intensive land‐use areas was high. This contrasted with a protected National Park where communities were characterized by high species richness and intermediate species turnover between sites. Slightly disturbed areas in the buffer zone surrounding the park were intermediate, they still had high species richness but similarity between sites increased. Strikingly, the assembly pattern also changed with disturbance from more phylogenetic overdispersion to more clustering (coexisting species became phylogenetically more similar), but only when the fungus‐growing termite Macrotermes bellicosus was absent. Our data suggest that the major forces structuring termite communities depend: (1) on the presence of this dominant mound‐building termite; and (2) that they change to more environmental filtering with disturbance. Anthropogenic disturbance seems to function as a filter that allows only a specific subset of species to occur. Such an effect might be widespread in ecology but it is difficult to document quantitatively. Phylogenetic community analyses can help to contribute such evidence.

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“…, Dosso et al . ). A decline of species richness with anthropogenic disturbance, especially in areas of intensive land‐use, was found on a global scale.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…, Dosso et al . ). Yet, the effects of disturbance on termites in drier savanna ecosystems are less clear.…”

mentioning

confidence: 97%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Impact of Anthropogenic Disturbance on Assembly Patterns of Termite Communities

Hausberger

Korb

2016

Biotropica

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“…Josens , , Konaté , Dosso et al . , , ). Soil feeders and wood feeders were expected to show strong responses to clearing and burning because of their respective sensitivity to changes in vegetation canopy and availability of woody material.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Short‐term changes in the structure of termite assemblages associated with slash‐and‐burn agriculture in Côte d'Ivoire

et al. 2017

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Termites are major decomposers in tropical regions and play critical roles in many soil‐related processes. Studies conducted in Asia and the Neotropics suggest that habitat modification can strongly affect termite assemblages, but data on termite communities from forests in Africa, especially West Africa, are scarce. Here, we measured the short‐term impact of slash‐and‐burn agriculture on termite assemblages in an agricultural region of central Côte d'Ivoire. We assessed termite diversity and relative abundance in four habitat types: secondary forest, cleared forest, burned forest, and crop fields. The secondary forest had higher species richness compared with the other habitats, but all habitat types had similar assemblage structures. Fungus‐growing termites were the most abundant feeding group in all habitats. Soil feeders were most abundant in secondary forest, intermediately abundant in cleared and burned forests, and almost entirely absent in crop fields. Wood‐feeding species showed clear responses to burning; their abundances decreased after fire. We conclude that slash‐and‐burn agriculture does not appear to severely erode the diversity of termite assemblages. This could be due to the dominance of ecologically versatile fungus growers or to the relatively long time between clearing and burning. However, forest clearing negatively affects soil feeders, with the Apicotermitinae most affected by canopy loss.

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Effect of farming on the vegetation structure, soil properties and termite assemblages in the northern Congo Basin

et al. 2022

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The growing human population requires vast amounts of supplies that are satisfied by a large agricultural expansion leading to alarming deforestation of tropical forests.Agriculture in the large part now is unsustainable as tropical soils are relatively nutrient poor, the amount of organic matter decreases fast and the soil invertebrates and microorganisms vanish over time. From a socio-economic point of view, agroforestry is a sustainable alternative to slash-and-burn practices, but its impact on termites, major macroinvertebrates responsible for the organic matter turnover, is poorly understood. Furthermore, other vegetation layers besides tree canopy are rarely included in studies despite their strong effect on soil macrofauna. Thus, we investigated the impact of human activities in Southern Cameroon by analysing the biomass of termites, the soil properties, the vegetation structure at three different classes (trees, shrubs and herbs) and the amount of raw vegetal material along a land-use gradient of primary forest -secondary forest -cocoa agroforestry -maize cropland.Within each of the habitats, two independent areas of 1 ha each were laid out for samples collection. Our results show similar trends for all variables, with a reduction of organic carbon as well as available micronutrients, plant diversity and abundance and dead plant matter stocks along the land-use intensification. The same trend is shown by the abundance and biomass of termites, best exemplified by the absence of soil-feeding termites in the maize cropland. We thus recommend for support to nature-friendly agroforestry systems preserving a large share of the original soil invertebrates.

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Changes in the termite assemblage across a sequence of land-use systems in the rural area around Lamto Reserve in central Côte d’Ivoire

Cited by 26 publications

References 40 publications

The Impact of Anthropogenic Disturbance on Assembly Patterns of Termite Communities

The Impact of Anthropogenic Disturbance on Assembly Patterns of Termite Communities

Short‐term changes in the structure of termite assemblages associated with slash‐and‐burn agriculture in Côte d'Ivoire

Effect of farming on the vegetation structure, soil properties and termite assemblages in the northern Congo Basin

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