Properties and functional impact of termite sheetings

Harit, Ajay and Shanbhag, Rashmi and Chaudhary, Ekta and Cheik, Sougueh and Jouquet, Pascal (2017) Properties and functional impact of termite sheetings. In: BIOLOGY AND FERTILITY OF SOILS, 53 (7). pp. 743-749.

PDF Bio_Fer_Soi_53-7_743_2017.pdf - Published Version Restricted to Registered users only Download (685kB) | Request a copy

Abstract

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.

Item Type:	Editorials/Short Communications
Publication:	BIOLOGY AND FERTILITY OF SOILS
Additional Information:	Copy right for this article belongs to the SPRINGER, 233 SPRING ST, NEW YORK, NY 10013 USA
Department/Centre:	Division of Mechanical Sciences > Civil Engineering
Date Deposited:	30 Sep 2017 09:21
Last Modified:	03 Oct 2018 14:32
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/57905

Actions (login required)

View Item