The fate of carbon utilized by the subterranean termite Reticulitermes flavipes
The fate of carbon utilized by the subterranean termite Reticulitermes flavipes
复制标题
地下白蚁 Reticulitermes flavipes 所利用的碳的命运
DOI：
10.1002/ecs2.3872
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发表时间：
2021
期刊：
影响因子：
2.7
通讯作者：
Forschler, Brian T.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Myer, Angela;Myer, Mark H.;Trettin, Carl C.;Forschler, Brian T.
地下白蚁是生态系统的工程师，它们调节从枯木到大气和土壤的碳流，但它们对后者的贡献在碳循环模型中基本上没有考虑到。以δ13C标记的木材作为稳定同位素示踪剂，在封闭系统中采用还原法设计测定了红木木材中C的去向。研究人员测量了白蚁呼吸气体、组织和有机沉积物（草叶和建筑材料）中木基碳的百分比，以估算在160小时的孵化期内分布在代谢和行为途径中的木基碳质量。我们发现，白蚁从木材中排放的碳中有42%以气体的形式（主要是二氧化碳）排放，40%以有机沉积物（草屑和建筑材料）的形式返回环境，18%保留在组织中（整个消化道和去肠体）。我们的研究结果证实，白蚁是温室气体的来源之一，但也是生态系统工程师，它们将大约一半的碳从枯木中以有机沉积物的形式返回到周围环境中。
Subterranean termites are ecosystem engineers that modulate the flow of carbon from dead wood to the atmosphere and soil, yet their contributions to the latter pool are largely unaccounted for in carbon cycling models. The fate of C from wood utilized byReticulitermes flavipes(Kollar) was determined using a reductionist design in a closed system with δ13C labeled wood as a stable isotope tracer. The percentage of wood‐based carbon in termite respiratory gases, tissues, and organic deposits (frass and construction materials) was measured for five colonies to budget wood‐C mass distributed into metabolic and behavioral pathways during a 160‐h incubation period. We found that termites emitted 42% of the C from wood as gas (largely as carbon dioxide), returned 40% to the environment as organic deposits (frass and construction materials), and retained 18% in their tissues (whole alimentary tracts and de‐gutted bodies). Our findings affirm that termites are a source of greenhouse gases but are also ecosystem engineers that return approximately half the C from dead wood as organic deposits into their surrounding environment.