Role of the fungus-growing termite Pseudacanthotermes spiniger (Isoptera, Macrotermitinae) in the dynamic of clay and soil organic matter content. An experimental analysis

Termite bioturbation effects on electro-chemical properties of Ferralsols in the Upper Katanga (D.R. Congo)

“…This implies that the clay fraction of termite structures (central hive, chamber wall and mound foot) contains additional 2:1 type clay minerals which contribute to permanent charge density. This change in mineralogical properties can be explained by the bringing up of fine particles rather than a modification of these clay materials (Holt and Lepage, 2000;Jouquet et al, 2002;Jouquet et al, 2007). In addition, C org content was very significantly (r = 0.999, P b 0.001) and positively correlated with Fe DCB and Al DCB contents.…”

“…Soils handled by termites are often enriched in mineral nutrients such as ammonium and nitrate, in exchangeable basic cations, and in some cases in available phosphorus, and have a more alkaline pH (Brauman et al, 2000;Holt and Lepage, 2000;López-Hernández et al, 2006;Brossard et al, 2007). The proportion of organic matter and clay in the termite-built structures is always greater than that in the bulk soil (Brauman et al, 2000;Jouquet et al, 2002;Jouquet et al, 2007) and conspicuous differences have also been observed in their mineralogical properties (Boyer, 1982;Mahaney et al, 1999). Consequently, the termite mounds are islands of higher chemical fertility within a chemically poor soilscape mostly dominated by Ferralsols.…”

Influence of soil type on the properties of termite mound nests in Southern India

“…This enrichment in clay particles improves the resistance of termite mounds to predators and rain and it is usually more significant in long-lasting structures than in short-lived soil constructions (Jouquet et al, 2002(Jouquet et al, , 2005(Jouquet et al, , 2007(Jouquet et al, , 2015a. Termites also influence soil chemical properties, such as soil C and N contents within their nest materials.…”

The influence of the mound-building termite (Macrotermes bellicosus) on soil clay mineralogy

“…We therefore concluded that the mound-building activity of M. bellicosus affects soil clay mineralogical composition as a result of their preferential collection of fine soil particles ( 53 m) (Abe et al 2009b(Abe et al , 2012. These findings may indicate that clay mineralogy is not linked to the ecological requirements of M. bellicosus, although our previous studies (Abe et al, 2009a(Abe et al, , 2009b suggest that soil particle selection by M. bellicosus was based on the mound structures built, which had different ecological requirements such as water-holding capacity and structural stability (Jouquet et al 2002a(Jouquet et al , 2007.…”

“…To this end, we compared the clay mineralogy of mound structures with that of adjacent termite-free soil horizons along a toposequence of an inland valley in central Nigeria using the differential X-ray diffraction (DXRD) approach (Schulze 1994). Although Jouquet et al (2002aJouquet et al ( , 2002bJouquet et al ( , 2007 reported qualitative alteration of clay minerals in soils handled by the Macrotermitinae termites (Odonto termes nr. pauperans and Pseudacanthotermes spiniger) in a laboratory experiment, i.e., the marginal transformation of well crystallized illite to poorly crystallized illite with smectite layers, such alteration seems negligible in a field-scale study and is beyond the scope of the present study.…”