Harit A., Shanbhag R., Chaudhary E., Cheik S., Jouquet Pascal. (2017). Properties and functional impact of termite sheetings. Biology and Fertility of Soils, 53 (7), p. 743-749. ISSN 0178-2762.
Titre du document
Properties and functional impact of termite sheetings
Harit A., Shanbhag R., Chaudhary E., Cheik S., Jouquet Pascal
Source
Biology and Fertility of Soils, 2017,
53 (7), p. 743-749 ISSN 0178-2762
Termites are considered soil engineers and key bioturbators in tropical and subtropical soils. A large number of studies have described the specific properties of the aboveground mounds that termites construct to protect their colonies from environmental hazards. However, there is a paucity of information on properties of soil sheetings; more temporary but often extensive structures are covering over or inserted within substrates on the ground such as leaves and woody materials or components of arboreal runways. Such sheetings are conspicuously produced not only by the Macrotermitinae but also by many other unrelated taxa. Here, we review the available literature and discuss (i) the relationship between rainfall and soil sheeting production and (ii) how termites affect the clay and C contents in soil sheetings. This reveals that sheeting production is highly variable and site specific. We also found that soil sheetings are always enriched in clay, but their impacts on soil C content are variable and related to the C content of the parent soil and to the quality of the substrates consumed by termites.
Plan de classement
Pédologie [068]
;
Biologie du sol [074]
Description Géographique
AFRIQUE ; ASIE ; EUROPE ; AMERIQUE ; BURKINA FASO ; KENYA ; NAMIBIE ; SENEGAL ; INDE ; VIET NAM ; MEXIQUE ; ETATS UNIS ; MEXIQUE ; COLOMBIE ; AUSTRALIE
