1. The impact of termites on soil sheeting properties is better explained by environmental factors than by their feeding and building strategies
- Author
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Pascal Jouquet, Ajay Harit, Vincent Hervé, Hemanth Moger, Tiago Carrijo, David A. Donoso, David Eldridge, Hélida Ferreira da Cunha, Chutinan Choosai, Jean-Louis Janeau, Jean-Luc Maeght, Thuy Doan Thu, Alexia Briandon, Myriam Dahbi Skali, John van Thuyne, Ali Mainga, Olga Patricia Pinzon Florian, Oumarou Malam Issa, Pascal Podwojewski, Jean-Louis Rajot, Thierry Henri-des-Tureaux, Lotfi Smaili, Mohamed Labiadh, Hanane Aroui Boukbida, Rashmi Shanbhag, Ratha Muon, Vannak Ann, Sougueh Cheik, Saliou Fall, Saran Traoré, Simon Dupont, Thomas Chouvenc, Aaron J. Mullins, Syaukani Syaukani, Rainer Zaiss, Tran Minh Tien, Jan Šobotník, Apolline Auclerc, Rongliang Qiu, Ye-Tao Tang, Hermine Huot, David Sillam-Dussès, Nicolas Bottinelli, Institut d'écologie et des sciences de l'environnement de Paris (iEES Paris ), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Université Paris-Est Créteil Val-de-Marne - Paris 12 (UPEC UP12)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), School of Chemical Sciences, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, Mahatma Gandhi University [Kerala], Institut de recherche sur la biologie de l'insecte UMR7261 (IRBI), Université de Tours (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Indian Institute of Science, Universidade Federal do ABC = Federal University of ABC = Université Fédérale de l'ABC [Brazil] (UFABC), Escuela Politécnica Nacional (EPN), University of New South Wales [Canberra Campus] (UNSW), Universidade Estadual de Goiás (UEG), Khon Kaen University [Thailand] (KKU), Botanique et Modélisation de l'Architecture des Plantes et des Végétations (UMR AMAP), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud])-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Université de Montpellier (UM), Soils and Fertilizers Research Institute (SFRI), Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences (VAAS), Université de Lausanne = University of Lausanne (UNIL), Universidad Distrital Francisco Jose de Caldas [Bogota], Institut des Régions Arides (IRA), Institute of Technology of Cambodia [Cambodge] (KHM), Centre d’Etudes et de Recherche de Djibouti (CERD), Institut Sénégalais de Recherches Agricoles [Dakar] (ISRA), Université Joseph Ki-Zerbo [Ouagadougou] (UJZK), University of Florida [Gainesville] (UF), Universitas Syiah Kuala, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CZU), Laboratoire Sols et Environnement (LSE), Université de Lorraine (UL)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Sun Yat-Sen University [Guangzhou] (SYSU), Laboratoire d'Ethologie Expérimentale et Comparée (LEEC), Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, French national Institute of Research for Development (IRD), and Indo-French Cell for Water Science (LMI CEFIRSE, http://www.cefirse.ird.fr)
- Subjects
[SDV.EE.ECO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment/Ecosystems ,Feeding guilds ,Ecosystem engineers ,Soil Science ,Biostructures ,Bioturbation ,[SDV.BV.BOT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Vegetal Biology/Botanics ,[SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology ,[SDV.BID.SPT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity/Systematics, Phylogenetics and taxonomy ,complex mixtures ,Fungus-growing termites - Abstract
International audience; Termites are key soil bioturbators in tropical ecosystems. Apart from mound nests constructed by some advanced lineages, most of the species use their faeces, oral secretions, debris, or soil aggregates to protect themselves from predators and desiccation when they go out to forage. Although this soil ‘sheeting’ is considered to play a key role in soil functioning, the properties of this termite-made material has been poorly studied. The few available data showed that sheeting properties are highly variable with positive, neutral or negative impacts on soil C and clay content, and consequently on soil aggregate stability. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the factors controlling the physical (particle size fractions and structural stability) and chemical (pH, electrical conductivity and carbon content) properties of soil sheeting produced by termite species encompassing all feeding and building categories using a dataset representative of an important diversity of biotopes coming from 21 countries from all continents colonized by termites. We showed that sheeting properties were explained by the properties of their environment, and especially by those of the bulk soil (linear relationships), followed in a lesser extent by the mean annual precipitation and biotope. Classic hypotheses related to termite feeding and building strategies were not hold by our analysis. However, the distinction of termites into fungus-growing and non-fungus growing species was useful when differentiating the impact of termites on soil electrical conductivity, C content, and structural stability. The large variability observed suggests the need to redefine termite functional groups based on their impacts on soil properties using a trait-based approach from morphological, anatomical and/or physiological traits.
- Published
- 2022
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