Nutrient cycling by mound-building termites in low-fertility soils of semi-arid tropical Australia [Amitermes vitiosus; Drepanotermes perniger; Tumulitermes pastinator; Queensland]
1988
Coventry, R.J. | Holt, J.A. (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Townsville (Australia). Div. of Soils) | Sinclair, D.F. (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Townsville (Australia). Div. of Mathematics and Statistics)
Various chemical attributes of the red and yellow earth soils, of low inherent fertility and unmodified by recent termite activity, are compared with those of the mounds of the 3 termite species and with the underlying, termite-modified soils. The mounds contain 21 Mg per ha of soil, representing only 1 percent of the total mass of soil in the A1 soil horizon but 5-7 percent of the plant nutrients in this system. Nutrients in the termite mounds, temporarily withheld from plant growth, are eventually returned to the soil surfce by erosion of abandoned mounds. Termites can turnover annually an estimated 300-400 kg per ha of soil material with nutrient levels 2-7 times that of the A1 soil horizon.
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