Modification of soils in Nigerian savanna by soil-feeding Cubitermes (isoptera, termitidae)

Soil-feeding termites ingest humified, organic-rich soil. The soil faeces are used for nest construction and mounds of two species of Cubitermes contained more soil, clay, exchangeable Ca and Mg, available P, total N and organic C than adjacent topsoil. Available P increased by 1.4–6.0 times. Mounds...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Soil biology & biochemistry 1983, Vol.15 (5), p.575-579
Main Authors: Wood, T.G., Johnson, R.A., Anderson, J.M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Animals
Autoecology
Biological and medical sciences
Cubitermes
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Protozoa. Invertebrata
savannas
Synecology
Termitidae
Terrestrial ecosystems
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Summary:Soil-feeding termites ingest humified, organic-rich soil. The soil faeces are used for nest construction and mounds of two species of Cubitermes contained more soil, clay, exchangeable Ca and Mg, available P, total N and organic C than adjacent topsoil. Available P increased by 1.4–6.0 times. Mounds of a plant-debris feeding termite, Trinervitermes, contained significantly more of these fractions, with the exception of available P, than adjacent topsoil. The modification of Trinervitermes mounds by Cubitermes resulted in a 2-fold increase in available P, whereas organic C remained the same and N increased by 1.5-times. The relatively large increase in available P resulting from soil feeding termites could be attributed to the high pH regime in their hind-guts.
ISSN:0038-0717
1879-3428
DOI:10.1016/0038-0717(83)90052-4