@article{fdi:010074373,
  title = {{E}ffects of termite foraging activity on topsoil physical properties and water infiltration in {V}ertisol},
  author = {{C}heik, {S}. and {B}ottinelli, {N}icolas and {S}oudan, {B}enoit and {H}arit, {A}. and {C}haudhary, {E}. and {S}ukumar, {R}. and {J}ouquet, {P}ascal},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{I}n the tropics, termites are key litter decomposers and soil bioturbators. {T}ermite foraging activity involves the production of sheetings and galleries that influence the physical, chemical and hydraulic properties of soils. {T}he functional impacts of these biogenic structures and biopores have been acknowledged for a long time in soils dominated by 1:1 minerals. {L}ess is known, however, on their functional impacts in soils dominated by 2:1 minerals, such as vertisol which represent 22% of the land surface in {I}ndia. {T}herefore, an experiment was carried out in a vertisol in southern {I}ndia where elephant ({E}lephas maximus) dung pats ({ED}) and {L}antana camara twigs ({LT}) were applied on the ground and protected (+) or not (-) from termite activity. {T}ermite activity was only measured below {ED}-, showing a clear preference for organic matter derived from elephant dung. {S}oil sheetings had similar properties to the surrounding topsoil, with the exception of their {C} content that was reduced. {T}his result raised the question of the origin of the soil used by termites for covering {ED}. {ED} - was also associated with the presence of effective macropores up to 5 cm depth and a significant increase in water hydraulic conductivity (12-fold). {H}owever, the utilization of the coefficient of linear extensibility showed that these galleries were unstable and most likely short-lived. {I}n conclusion, this study confirmed that the structure of soils dominated by 2:1 minerals is mainly controlled by physical processes (i.e., the shrinking and swelling of soils). {T}his study also stresses the need to better understand the dynamic of termite galleries in soil and to quantify the origin and fate of organic matter in soil sheetings.},
  keywords = {{I}ndia ; {T}ermites ; {O}dontotermes spp. ; {V}ertisol ; {B}ioturbation ; {S}oil physical properties ; {G}alleries ; {S}aturated hydraulic conductivity ; {INDE}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{A}pplied {S}oil {E}cology},
  volume = {133},
  numero = {},
  pages = {132--137},
  ISSN = {0929-1393},
  year = {2019},
  DOI = {10.1016/j.apsoil.2018.10.001},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010074373},
}