SOM management in the tropics: Why feeding the soil macrofauna?

Lavelle, Patrick; Barros, Eleusa; Blanchart, Éric; Brown, G. G.; Desjardins, Thierry; Mariani, Lucero; Rossi, Jean‐Pierre

doi:10.1007/978-94-017-2172-1_6

Cited by 61 publications

(61 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Ants and termites are important agents of soil, functioning through their bioturbation effects, which have been shown to be an important agent regulating soil aggregates and the creation of galleries and chambers as well as facilitate the water and gas transportation (Lavelle et al, 2001). They also indicated that the activities of some of the invertebrates on soil structure have serious impact also on soil aggregation and porosity, and hence on associated hydraulic properties and soil organic matter availability for microorganism.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The scholars stated that nests formed by the black ants, popularly known as carton nest, are formed by ants chewing up pieces of wood and mixing them with honeydew and a type of syrup very similar to those of wasps. Ants and termites are very vulnerable insects and require the protection of their bodies and colonies by improving the structural stability of their nests.Ants and termites are important agents of soil, functioning through their bioturbation effects, which have been shown to be an important agent regulating soil aggregates and the creation of galleries and chambers as well as facilitate the water and gas transportation (Lavelle et al, 2001). They also indicated that the activities of some of the invertebrates on soil structure have serious impact also on soil aggregation and porosity, and hence on associated hydraulic properties and soil organic matter availability for microorganism.…”

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Stabilities of ant nests and their adjacent soils

Echezona¹,

Igwe²

2012

International Agrophysics

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A b s t r a c t. Nests habour ants and termites and protect them from harsh environmental conditions. The structural stabilities of nests were studied to ascertain their relative vulnerability to environmental stresses. Arboreal-ant nests were pried from different trees, while epigeous-termite nests were excavated from soil surface within the sample area. Soils without any visible sign of ant or termite activity were also sampled 6 m away from the nests as control. Laboratory analysis result showed that irrespective of the tree hosts, the aggregate stabilities of the ant nests were lower than those of the ground termite, with nests formed on Cola nitida significantly showing lower aggregate stability (19.7%) than other antnest structures. Clay dispersion ratio, moisture content, water stable aggregate class <0.25 mm and sand mass were each negatively correlated with aggregate stability, while water stable aggregate class1.00-0.50 mm gave a positive correlation. Nest structures were dominated more by water stable aggregate class >2.00 mm but path analysis demonstrated that water stable aggregate class <0.25 mm contributed most to the higher aggregate stability of the termite nest than the other nest. Nest aggregates had greater structural stability compared to the control soil. The higher structural stability of termite nests over other nest and soil was considered a better adaptive mechanism against body desiccation.K e y w o r d: structural stability, arboreal-ant nests, derived savanna, termite nests INTRODUCTIONWithin the tropics, the most abundant animals are the ants which belong to the order Hymenoptera in the family Formicidae, and the termite in the order Isoptera in the family Termitidae (Jouquet et al., 2002). Related findings for instance from Ghana and Nigeria showed that as many as 80% of the total number of individual insects found on cocoa are ants (Hölldobler and Wilson, 1990). This in addition to the original lifestyle as predators makes them major components of both the terrestrial and arboreal ecosystems.These soil macro-invertebrates (ants and termites) are regarded as ecosystem engineers (Jouquet et al., 2006). Termites are divided into either wood-dwelling or soil dwelling, but majority of the tropical termites are the soil dwellers that construct either above ground nests or dig underground galleries and are found mostly on dry areas. Wood dwelling termites do not create nests, but live in excavated galleries in the dry woods. Ants are responsible mainly for arboreal nests. They live mainly on live trees where they build nests with litter materials, soils and some decomposed organic materials on top of trees. The scholars stated that nests formed by the black ants, popularly known as carton nest, are formed by ants chewing up pieces of wood and mixing them with honeydew and a type of syrup very similar to those of wasps. Ants and termites are very vulnerable insects and require the protection of their bodies and colonies by improving the structural stability of their nests.Ants and termite...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Stabilities of ant nests and their adjacent soils

Echezona¹,

Igwe²

2012

International Agrophysics

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“…Soil organisms comprise a huge number of species that play a central role in various ecosystem functions that provide valuable ecosystem services that sustain soil quality and plant growth, as a driving force in nutrient cycling by fragmenting and ingesting litter material and interacting with the microorganisms that decompose and mineralize the vegetable residue (Yang et al 2007;Höffer et al 2001;Huhta 2007;Barros et al 2004;Lavelle et al 2001;Wardle et al 1998). Soil management practice can have dramatic effects upon soil invertebrate communities (Cassagne et al 2006;Rossi and Blanchart 2005;Barros et al 2002Barros et al , 2003Decaëns et al 2004) and may therefore lead to important changes in soil functioning.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil and litter fauna of cacao agroforestry systems in Bahia, Brazil

Moço¹,

Gama-Rodrigues²,

Gama-Rodrigues³

et al. 2008

Advances in Agroforestry

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“…As minhocas, grupo preponderante da macrofauna, atuam em vários processos fundamentais para a manutenção da fertilidade e qualidade dos solos de agroecossistemas e ecossistemas naturais (LAVELLE et al, 2001).…”

Section: Introductionunclassified

Populações de minhocas em sistemas agroflorestais com café convencional e orgânico

Aquino¹,

Filho²,

Ricci³

et al. 2008

Ciênc. agrotec.

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RESUMOObjetivou-se, neste estudo, determinar se as populações das minhocas são alteradas em função do manejo do café (Coffea arabica) em Turrialba, CostaRica. Os seguintes sistemas de cultivo do café foram estudados: a pleno sol (PS) e sombreado com eritrina, Erythrina poeppigiana (E); terminalia, Terminalia amazonia (T) e cashá, Chloroleucon eurycyclum (Ab). A hipótese foi de que o manejo orgânico do café e o fornecimento da serapilheira de melhor qualidade favoreceria a diversidade, a densidade e a biomassa das minhocas. As populações das minhocas foram alteradas, em função do manejo com insumos sintéticos ou orgânicos , sendo a densidade menor no café a pleno sol. Entre as espécies utilizadas no sombreamento, a eritrina parece limitar a abundância das minhocas. Contudo, favorece a diversidade das mesmas, tendo sido registradas duas espécies de minhocas com papéis ecológicos diferenciados, Pontoscolex corethrurus, endogeica e Metaphire californica, anécica; ao contrário dos demais tratamentos, onde somente foi encontrada a primeira espécie, considerada cosmopolita com distribuição pantropical. Termos para indexação:Coffea arabica, microclima, biodiversidade, fauna do solo, sombreamento. ABSTRACTThe aim of this study was to determine whether the populations of the earthworms are altered by coffee systems in Turrialba, Costa Rica. The following coffee management systems were studied: the sun and shading with Erythrina poeppigiana; terminalia, Terminalia amazonia or cashá, Chloroleucon eurycyclum. The hypothesis was that the organic management of the coffee and the litter input of better quality would favor the diversity, the density and the biomass of the earthworms. The populations of earthworms were differentiated with the synthetic or organic input. However, the density was lower in the coffee under the sun anyone the used species in the agroforestry, the eritrina seems to limit the abundance of the earthworms, but it favors the diversity of the same ones, being registered two species of earthworms with differentiated ecological roles, Pontoscolex corethrurus, endogeic, specie cosmopolita with pantropical distribution and Metaphire californica, anecic. On the contrary of other treatments where only the first species was found.

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SOM management in the tropics: Why feeding the soil macrofauna?

Cited by 61 publications

References 29 publications

Stabilities of ant nests and their adjacent soils

Stabilities of ant nests and their adjacent soils

Soil and litter fauna of cacao agroforestry systems in Bahia, Brazil

Populações de minhocas em sistemas agroflorestais com café convencional e orgânico

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