The Plant Ecology of Ant-Hills in Calcareous Grasslands: I. Patterns of Species in Relation to Ant-Hills in Southern England

King, Timothy J.

doi:10.2307/2259077

Cited by 150 publications

(103 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Pleurocarpous mosses are abundant on their north-facing sides. The rate at which ants heap soil on to the mounds appears to be very slow, compared with the growth rates of ant-hills in acidic grasslands at Silwood Park, Berkshire (Waloff and Blackith, 1962), and in calcareous grasslands (King, 1972;unpublished data). The absence of incipient ant-hills, except at Cefn Bryn, the high numbers of large mounds per unit area, and the high proportion of abandoned mounds suggest that ant-hills have persisted on these sites for perhaps hundreds of years.…”

Section: Ntrod\3ctionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…SS 488902), Harding's Down (SS 434907), Llanmadoc Down (SS 438926), the southern end of Rhossili Down (SS 418884) and the northern end of Rhossili Down (SS 418904). The latter site was sampled in more detail than the others and the data on soil profiles and soil analysis, mentioned in this paper, and the viable seed contents of ant-hill and pasture soils (King, 1976), were collected from this area. Sites are all within 4 km of the sea, between 130 and 170 m in altitude, and very exposed to sea mist and sea gales, mainly from the west and southwest.…”

Section: Ntrod\3ctionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The mean total annual precipitation is about 1105 mm. Detailed descriptions of the sites appear in King (1972). …”

Section: Ntrod\3ctionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The effects of ant-hills on plant distribution in acidic grasslands have not previously been described and it is valuable to compare these data with the multitude of published work from sites on calcareous grasslands (e.g. King, 1977a).In the Gower Peninsula, several Old Red Sandstone (conglomerate) hills dominate the surrounding plain. Cefn Bryn (167 m), Harding's Down (152 m), Llanmadoc Down (185 m) and Rhossili Down (193 m) all have Neolithic earthworks on top and are common land, grazed by sheep, horses and cows for centuries.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ant‐hill Vegetation in Acidic Grasslands in the Gower Peninsula, South Wales

King¹

1981

New Phytologist

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SUMMARYThe vegetation of ant-hill and adjacent pasture was compared in five acidic grasslands in the Gower peninsula. South Wales. The acrocarpous mosses Dicranum scoparium Hedw., Polytrichum juniperinum Hedw. and P. piliferum. Hedw. were almost confined to the mounds but several perennials, including Anthoxanthum odoratum L., Luzula campestris (L.) DC, Potentilla erecta (L.) Rausch and Sieglingia decumbens (L.) Bernh., were much less abundant on ant-hills than in the surrounding vegetation. The factors which infiuence the distributions of the plant species are discussed briefly. In considering the responses of plants to ant-hills soil chemical and physical factors are probably less important than a plant's dispersal ability and capacity to withstand burial. 1NTROD\3CTIONThe mounds built by Lasius flavus (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in grasslands in northern Europe often have striking and consistent effects on the patterns of plant species. Certain species are more abundant or less abundant on L. flavus ant-hills than in the surrounding sward (Pfeiffer, 1933; Haarlov, 1960; Waloff and Blackith, 1962; Thomas, 1962; Elton, 1966;Voronov, 1968; Grubb et al., 1969; Woodell, 1974; Kay and Woodell, 1976; King, 1977a, b, c). King (1977c) has emphasized that the relative abundance of a plant species on and off the mounds depends upon its ability to (a) disperse its seeds onto the ant-hills, (b) to flower and set seed on the mounds themselves and (c) to avoid or withstand soil heaped on to the surfaces of the mounds by the ants. This paper describes the distribution of plant species in relation to ant-hills in acidic grasslands in the Gower peninsula. South Wales. The effects of ant-hills on plant distribution in acidic grasslands have not previously been described and it is valuable to compare these data with the multitude of published work from sites on calcareous grasslands (e.g. King, 1977a).In the Gower Peninsula, several Old Red Sandstone (conglomerate) hills dominate the surrounding plain. Cefn Bryn (167 m), Harding's Down (152 m), Llanmadoc Down (185 m) and Rhossili Down (193 m) all have Neolithic earthworks on top and are common land, grazed by sheep, horses and cows for centuries. The lower slopes of these hills have been invaded by bracken {Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn*] which anecdotal and other evidence indicates is spreading.Those areas which have shallow soils or heavy grazing pressure support grasslands in which the vegetation is typically 2 to 5 cm tall throughout the year. It has a species composition typical of Agrostis tenuis Sibth. -Festuca ovina L. grassland in the western uplands of Britain (Tansley, 1939

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Section: Ntrod\3ctionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Ntrod\3ctionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The mean total annual precipitation is about 1105 mm. Detailed descriptions of the sites appear in King (1972). …”

Section: Ntrod\3ctionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ant‐hill Vegetation in Acidic Grasslands in the Gower Peninsula, South Wales

King¹

1981

New Phytologist

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“…1971;Jakubczyk et al 1972;Petal 1980;Frouz et al 2003) who observed higher concentrations of available K, Ca, Na, and P and increased pH in nests of Formica, Lasius, and Myrmica spp. An increase in P concentration, as well as K concentration (King 1977), was also described for other ant species (Dlusskyj 1967;Petal 1978;Pokarzhevskij 1981;Zacharov et al 1981;Culver & Beattie 1983;Lobry de Bruyn 1999;Frouz et al 2003Frouz et al , 2005). In the current study, however, P tot did not differ between the nest and surrounding soil.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 52%

Chemical properties of forest soils as affected by nests of Myrmica ruginodis (Formicidae)

et al. 2010

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Chemical properties (total and available P concentration; oxidizable C concentration; available K, Na, and Ca concentration; and pH) were quantified for 33 nests of the ant Myrmica ruginodis and in surrounding soil in young spruce forest stands. All properties, except total P, were significantly higher in the nests than in the surrounding soil. Total P was not higher in nests than in surrounding soil across all nests because nests had higher total P than surrounding soil if the soil contained low concentrations of total P but nests had lower total P than surrounding soil if the soil contained high concentrations of total P. The effect of nests on total P in the surrounding soil corresponded with effects of nests on oxidizable carbon (an indicator of organic matter) in the surrounding soil (concentrations of oxidizable carbon and total P were closely correlated). Available P concentrations were much higher in nests than in surrounding soil. Overall, the results indicated that two main processes explain the chemical changes of soil in the ant nests: (i) mixing due to excavation of deeper soil layers and (ii) deposition of excreta and food residues. The effect of soil mixing (whereby ants transport mineral soil from deeper layers to layers near the surface) is more pronounced in soils with high organic content near the surface because mixing increases the proportion of mineral soil in the nest while decreasing the proportion of organic matter and the concentration of total P.

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Ant‐hill heterogeneity and grassland management

King

2021

Ecol Sol and Evidence

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1. In many grasslands, some ants act as ecological engineers to produce long-lasting soil structures which have a considerable influence on the patterns and dynamics of plant, vertebrate and invertebrate species. They promote species richness and diversity. 2. The yellow meadow ant, Lasius flavus, is the most abundant allogenic ecological engineer in grazed European grasslands, producing vegetated long-lasting mounds. It is so frequent and abundant that it must be regarded as a keystone species. Grassland restoration projects frequently attempt to reintroduce grasslands on abandoned arable fields. When this ant does not colonize naturally it should be introduced. It probably limits the abundance of grasses in a similar manner to hemi-parasitic plant species. 3. Ant-hills make a distinctive contribution to grassland heterogeneity. Measurements on mounds in a single grassland over 45 years document the dynamics of the same 200+ ant-hills in volume, surface area and basal area. As the mounds aged, they increased in size and took over a higher proportion of the grassland surface. Occupied mounds continued to grow, abandoned mounds decreased in volume and some disappeared entirely. 4. Four plant species favoured by the soil heaped by the ants were also monitored. Two woody perennials grew up through heaped soil and two short-lived species colonized its surface. As the mounds became occupied, some of these species significantly increased, and when they were abandoned some decreased. 5. In a grassland, the ant-hill population provides a fluctuating subset of plant and animal species which are characteristic of temporary habitats. This seems likely to reduce the rate of local extinctions which might otherwise result from fluctuations in grazing pressure. In conservation settings, ant-hills should be introduced or maintained where possible, and considered in planning grassland maintenance and management.

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The Plant Ecology of Ant-Hills in Calcareous Grasslands: I. Patterns of Species in Relation to Ant-Hills in Southern England

Cited by 150 publications

References 35 publications

Ant‐hill Vegetation in Acidic Grasslands in the Gower Peninsula, South Wales

Ant‐hill Vegetation in Acidic Grasslands in the Gower Peninsula, South Wales

Chemical properties of forest soils as affected by nests of Myrmica ruginodis (Formicidae)

Ant‐hill heterogeneity and grassland management

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