Increased CO2 emission and organic matter decomposition by leaf-cutting ant nests in a coastal environment

Sousa-Souto, Leandro; Santos, Danielle Caroline de Jesus; Ambrogi, Bianca Giuliano; Santos, Mário Jorge Campos dos; Guerra, Marcelo Braga Bueno; Pereira-Filho, Edenir Rodrigues

doi:10.1016/j.soilbio.2011.09.008

Cited by 33 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…CO 2 effluxes were up to 12 times higher compared with surrounding soils in boreal forests (Domisch et al 2006; Ohashi et al 2005, 2007b), a subalpine forest (Risch et al 2005), and in a marsh area (Wu et al 2013). Similarly, CO 2 efflux rates are up to five times higher in the soil-mound nests of Solenopsis invicta in pasture soil (Bender and Wood 2003), in nest mounds of Lasius flavus and L. niger in wetlands (Wu et al 2013), and nests of Acromyrmex balzani in coastal plains (Sousa-Souto et al 2012). These studies show that ant nests increase the CO 2 efflux from soil, but most of them have been conducted in northern forests and grasslands where a few ant species build mound-type nests.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ants could affect nest CO 2 efflux in many ways such as directly via respiration and indirectly by altering soil properties and the environment, changing the respiration rate of other CO 2 sources (Sousa-Souto et al 2012; Ohashi et al 2007b). In Formica ant mounds, the higher temperatures and lower moisture content compared with the surrounding soil enhanced the activity of ants and other organisms resulting in larger CO 2 effluxes (Ohashi et al 2007b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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CO₂ efflux from subterranean nests of ant communities in a seasonal tropical forest, Thailand

Hasin

Ohashi

Yamada

et al. 2014

Ecology and Evolution

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Many ant species construct subterranean nests. The presence of their nests may explain soil respiration “hot spots”, an important factor in the high CO2 efflux from tropical forests. However, no studies have directly measured CO2 efflux from ant nests. We established 61 experimental plots containing 13 subterranean ant species to evaluate the CO2 efflux from subterranean ant nests in a tropical seasonal forest, Thailand. We examined differences in nest CO2 efflux among ant species. We determined the effects of environmental factors on nest CO2 efflux and calculated an index of nest structure. The mean CO2 efflux from nests was significantly higher than those from the surrounding soil in the wet and dry seasons. The CO2 efflux was species-specific, showing significant differences among the 13 ant species. The soil moisture content significantly affected nest CO2 efflux, but there was no clear relationship between nest CO2 efflux and nest soil temperature. The diameter of the nest entrance hole affected CO2 efflux. However, there was no significant difference in CO2 efflux rates between single-hole and multiple-hole nests. Our results suggest that in a tropical forest ecosystem the increase in CO2 efflux from subterranean ant nests is caused by species-specific activity of ants, the nest soil environment, and nest structure.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

CO₂ efflux from subterranean nests of ant communities in a seasonal tropical forest, Thailand

Hasin

Ohashi

Yamada

et al. 2014

Ecology and Evolution

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“…Second, ants heavily harvest almost all plants around the nest area, reducing the amount of leaf litter falling on nest top soils (Farji-Brener & Illes 2000;. On the other hand, as explained earlier, refuse materials are mainly composed by organic matter that house high abundance and diversity of soil biota which is responsible for nutrient mineralization (Farji-Brener 2010;Sousa-Souto et al 2012;Fern andez, Farji-Brener & Satti 2014). Refuse materials also show higher levels of nutrient content than cations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…On the other hand, as explained earlier, refuse materials are mainly composed by organic matter that house high abundance and diversity of soil biota which is responsible for nutrient mineralization (Farji‐Brener ; Sousa‐Souto et al . ; Fernández, Farji‐Brener & Satti ). Refuse materials also show higher levels of nutrient content than cations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of ant nests on soil fertility and plant performance: a meta‐analysis

Farji‐Brener

Werenkraut

2017

Journal of Animal Ecology

100

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Ants are recognized as one of the major sources of soil disturbance world-wide. However, this view is largely based on isolated studies and qualitative reviews. Here, for the first time, we quantitatively determined whether ant nests affect soil fertility and plant performance, and identified the possible sources of variation of these effects. Using Bayesian mixed-models meta-analysis, we tested the hypotheses that ant effects on soil fertility and plant performance depend on the substrate sampled, ant feeding type, latitude, habitat and the plant response variable measured. Ant nests showed higher nutrient and cation content than adjacent non-nest soil samples, but similar pH. Nutrient content was higher in ant refuse materials than in nest soils. The fertilizer effect of ant nests was also higher in dry habitats than in grasslands or savannas. Cation content was higher in nests of plant-feeding ants than in nests of omnivorous species, and lower in nests from agro-ecosystems than in nests from any other habitat. Plants showed higher green/root biomass and fitness on ant nests soils than in adjacent, non-nest sites; but plant density and diversity were unaffected by the presence of ant nests. Root growth was particularly higher in refuse materials than in ant nest soils, in leaf-cutting ant nests and in deserts habitats. Our results confirm the major role of ant nests in influencing soil fertility and vegetation patterns and provide information about the factors that mediate these effects. First, ant nests improve soil fertility mainly through the accumulation of refuse materials. Thus, different refuse dump locations (external or in underground nest chambers) could benefit different vegetation life-forms. Second, ant nests could increase plant diversity at larger spatial scales only if the identity of favoured plants changes along environmental gradients (i.e. enhancing β-diversity). Third, ant species that feed on plants play a relevant role fertilizing soils, which may balance their known influence as primary consumers. Fourth, the effects of ant nests as fertility islands are larger in arid lands, possibly because fertility is intrinsically lower in these habitats. Overall, this study provide novel and quantitative evidence confirming that ant nests are key soil modifiers, emphasizing their role as ecological engineers.

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“…Several field and laboratory studies reported an increase in CO 2 efflux from nests of L. flavus (Dauber and Wolters, 2000;Wu et al, 2013), wood ants Domisch et al, 2006), fire ants (Bender and Wood, 2003), and leaf-cutting ants (Sousa-Souto et al, 2012) compared to the surrounding soil. Only few studies showed a lower CO 2 efflux from ant nests (Holec and Frouz, 2006;Amador and G€ orres, 2007).…”

Section: And N Mineralizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nest-mounds of the yellow meadow ant (Lasius flavus) at the “Alter Gleisberg”, Central Germany: Hot or cold spots in nutrient cycling?

Bierbaß

Gutknecht

Michalzik

2015

Soil Biology and Biochemistry

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Increased CO2 emission and organic matter decomposition by leaf-cutting ant nests in a coastal environment

Cited by 33 publications

References 32 publications

CO₂ efflux from subterranean nests of ant communities in a seasonal tropical forest, Thailand

CO₂ efflux from subterranean nests of ant communities in a seasonal tropical forest, Thailand

The effects of ant nests on soil fertility and plant performance: a meta‐analysis

Nest-mounds of the yellow meadow ant (Lasius flavus) at the “Alter Gleisberg”, Central Germany: Hot or cold spots in nutrient cycling?

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Increased CO2 emission and organic matter decomposition by leaf-cutting ant nests in a coastal environment

Cited by 33 publications

References 32 publications

CO2 efflux from subterranean nests of ant communities in a seasonal tropical forest, Thailand

CO2 efflux from subterranean nests of ant communities in a seasonal tropical forest, Thailand

The effects of ant nests on soil fertility and plant performance: a meta‐analysis

Nest-mounds of the yellow meadow ant (Lasius flavus) at the “Alter Gleisberg”, Central Germany: Hot or cold spots in nutrient cycling?

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CO₂ efflux from subterranean nests of ant communities in a seasonal tropical forest, Thailand

CO₂ efflux from subterranean nests of ant communities in a seasonal tropical forest, Thailand