The effect of a soil-feeding termite, Cubitermes fungifaber (Isoptera: Termitidae) on soil properties:: termites may be an important source of soil microhabitat heterogeneity in tropical forests
The effect of a soil-feeding termite, Cubitermes fungifaber (Isoptera: Termitidae) on soil properties:: termites may be an important source of soil microhabitat heterogeneity in tropical forests
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DOI：
10.1078/0031-4056-00063
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发表时间：
2001-01-01
期刊：
影响因子：
2.3
通讯作者：
Dibog, L
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Donovan, SE;Eggleton, P;Dibog, L
我们利用实验中隔系统测量了一种典型的食土白蚁对土壤质量的影响。我们从喀麦隆南部潮湿林区的五个不同地点获得了土壤。这些地点沿着一个扰动梯度，从近初级土壤到高度退化的农业土壤。我们让Cubitermes真菌制造者群体在土壤中工作了13天。我们测量了耕作土壤中的物理和化学参数，这些参数被认为对土壤质量很重要，因此会影响肥力。结果表明，在初始pH较低的土壤中，真菌提高了土壤的pH值，增加了有机碳、水分含量和高岭石的相对含量，降低了石英的相对含量。这些白蚁的主要作用是提高当地微立地土壤质量，这种作用在近原始林和老次生林中最大。因此，白蚁是热带森林土壤系统异质性的潜在重要来源。
We measured the effect of a typical soil-feeding termite on soil quality using experimental mesocosms. We obtained soil from five different sites in the humid forest zone of southern Cameroon. The sites were along a disturbance gradient, from near primary, to highly degraded agricultural soil. We allowed colonies of Cubitermes fungifaber to work the soils for 13 days. We measured physical and chemical parameters in the worked soils that are known to be important in soil quality, and therefore to influence fertility. We found that C. fungifaber raised pH in soils with an initial low pH, increased organic carbon, water content and relative amount of kaolinite, and decreased the relative amount of quartz. The main effect of these termites is to raise local microsite soil quality, and these effects are greatest in the near primary and old secondary forests. Termites are, therefore, potentially important sources of heterogeneity in tropical forest soil systems.