How Are Termites Important in Desert Communities?
WouterTermite mounds are a refuge for plants and animals in drylands. They create a microclimate for plants to thrive, and improve water seepage into the soil. They also preserve seeds and store moisture.
Termite mounds are located in the drylands of Africa and South America. They are self-organizing, creating patterns on a scale of tens of meters. They are surrounded by abundant vegetation, but the density of vegetation thins out from the center of the mound.
Biologically advanced termite workers maintain an obligate mutualism with fungi. They also build internal tunnels to allow water to penetrate the soil. They keep the soil from drying out, which helps plants grow faster after rainfall resumes. The nutrients that are stored in these internal tunnels are then available for the plants.
Termite mounds help to stabilize the dryland ecosystem and can prevent desertification. They can also increase the resilience of drylands to climatic change.
According to a recent study, termite mounds can help to mitigate the worst impacts of global warming in drylands. The study shows that drylands with termite mounds are more resilient against collapse than non-termite areas.
Researcher Corina Tarnita, an assistant professor in evolutionary biology at Princeton University, has been studying the ecology of termites. She is the first author of a paper published in PLoS Biology. The paper describes how termite mounds are hotspots of animal and plant activity.
A mathematical model was developed to determine how termite mounds influence plant growth. The model applies tools from physics and numerical analysis to determine the persistence of vegetation in the presence of termites.
