Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-r5fsc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-04T09:14:21.330Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Impacts of canopy cover on soil termite assemblages in an agrisilvicultural system in southern Cameroon

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

L. Dibog ,
P. Eggleton ,
L. Norgrove ,
D.E. Bignell  and
S. Hauser
L. Dibog
Affiliation:
Termite Research Group, Entomology Department, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD, UK NERC Centre for Population Biology, Imperial College, University of London, Silwood Park, Ascot, Berkshire, SL5 7PY, UK
P. Eggleton*
Affiliation:
Termite Research Group, Entomology Department, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD, UK
L. Norgrove
Affiliation:
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Humid Forest Station, BP 2008 (Messa) Yaoundé, Cameroon Division of Life Sciences, King's College, University of London, London, W8 7AH, UK
D.E. Bignell
Affiliation:
Tropical Biology and Conservation Unit, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kampus Jalan Tuaran, 88999 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
S. Hauser
Affiliation:
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Humid Forest Station, BP 2008 (Messa) Yaoundé, Cameroon
*
* Fax: +44 171 938 8937 E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Termites were sampled using randomized soil pits in 64 cropping plots, each 25 x 25 m, forming an experimental agrisilvicultural system in both a 6- and an 18-year-old Terminalia ivorensis plantation, in which canopy cover, crop, cropping system and land preparation were the principal treatment variables. The treatments were established in April 1995 and sampling was carried out in November 1995, February 1996 and July 1996. A total of 82 termite species were found, of which 67 were soil-feeders. Overall termite abundance and the abundance of soil-feeders increased between November 1995 and July 1996, reaching a mean of nearly 6000 m-2. Pooling termite data from these sampling dates, in the old plantation, the high canopy cover treatment (192 stems ha-1) had a greater abundance of termites, compared with the low canopy cover treatment (64 stems ha-1) and this effect was independent of crop type (plantain or cocoyam), cropping system (single stands or mixed crops) and land preparation (mulch retained or burned, plantain only). The young tree plantation (same tree densities as in the old plantation) showed no significant difference in termite abundance between high and low canopy (levels of tree foliage) densities, though the high canopy sheltered a greater number of termites. Analysis of covariance showed that crop yield (both plantain and cocoyam) was not directly linked to the abundance of all termite populations, but that the cocoyam yield was positively correlated with the abundance of soil-feeding termites (the majority in the assemblage) in the young plantation. This may be due to the beneficial conditioning of soil resulting from the foraging and construction activities of soil-feeders.

Type
Research Article
Information
Bulletin of Entomological Research , Volume 89 , Issue 2 , February 1999 , pp. 125 - 132
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1999

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abensperg-Traun, M. & Milewski, A.V. (1995) Abundance and diversity of termites (Isoptera) in unburnt versus burnt vegetation at the Barrens in Mediterranean Western Australia. Australian Journal of Ecology 20, 413–417.Google Scholar
Adamson, A.M. (1943) Termites and the fertility of soil. Tropical Agriculture, Trinidad 20, 107–112.Google Scholar
Bignell, D.E., Eggleton, P., Nunes, L. & Thomas, K.L. (1997) Termites as mediators of carbon fluxes in tropical forest: budgets for carbon dioxide and methane emissions, pp. 109–134in Watt, A.D., Stork, N.E. & Hunter, M.D. (Eds) Forests and insects. London, Chapman and Hall.Google Scholar
Brussaard, L. & Jumas, N.G. (1996) Organisms and humus in soils. pp. 329–359in Piccolo, A. (Ed.) Humus substances in terrestrial ecosystem. Amsterdam, Elsevier.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Collins, N.M. (1983) The utilization of nitrogen resources by termites (Isoptera). pp. 381–412in Lee, J.A., McNeill, S. & Rorison, I.H. (Eds) Nitrogen as an ecological factor. Oxford, Blackwell Scientific Publications.Google Scholar
Das, G.M. (1957) How to utilise mound site for growing tea. News literature. Indian Tea Assessment, Tocklai 4, 8–9.Google Scholar
Davies, R.G. (1997) Termite species richness in fire-prone and fire-protected dry deciduous dipterocarp forest in Doi Suthep-Pui National Park, northern Thailand. Journal of Tropical Ecology 13, 153–160.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dibog, L., Eggleton, P. & Forzi, F. (1998) The seasonality of a soil termite assemblage in a humid tropical forest, Mbalmayo, southern Cameroon. Journal of Tropical Ecology 14, 841–850.Google Scholar
Eggleton, P., Bignell, D.E., Sands, W.A., Waite, B., Wood, T.G. & Lawton, J.H. (1995) The diversity of termites (Isoptera) under differing levels of forest disturbance in the Mbalmayo Forest Reserve Southern Cameroon. Journal of Tropical Ecology 11, 85–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eggleton, P., Bignell, D.E., Sands, W.A., Mawdsley, N.A., Lawton, J.H., Wood, T.G. & Bignell, N.C. (1996) The diversity, abundance and biomass of termites under differing levels of disturbance in the Mbalmayo Forest Reserve, Southern Cameroon. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B 351, 51–68.Google Scholar
Fragoso, C., Barois, I., González, C., Arteaga, C. & Patrón, J.C. (1993) Relationship between earthworms and soil organic matter levels in natural and managed ecosystems in Mexican tropics. pp. 231–240in Mulongoy, K. & Merckx, R. (Eds) Soil organic matter dynamics and sustainability of tropical agriculture. Chichester, John Wiley and Sons.Google Scholar
Garnier-Sillam, E. & Harry, M. (1995) Distribution of humic compounds in mounds of some soil-feeding termite species of tropical rainforests: its influence on soil structure stability. Insectes Sociaux 42, 167–185.Google Scholar
Harris, W.V. (1954) Termites and tropical agriculture. The Journal of Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture 31, 11–18.Google Scholar
Harris, W.V. (1968) Termites of the Sudan. University of Khartoum, Sudan Natural History, B 4, 113–131.Google Scholar
Holdridge, L.R., Grenke, W.C., Hatheway, W.H., Liang, T. & Tosi, J.H. (1971) Forest environments in tropical life zones. Oxford, Pergamon Press.Google Scholar
Holland, M.D., Allen, R.K.G., Campbell, K., Grimble, R.J. & Stickings, J.C. (1992) Natural and human resource studies and land use options. Department of Nyong et So'o, Cameroon. Natural Resources Institute, Chatham, UK.Google Scholar
Jones, J.A. (1990) Termites, soil fertility and carbon cycling in dry tropical Africa: a hypothesis. Journal of Tropical Ecology 6, 291–305.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lavelle, P., Blanchard, E., Martin, A., Spain, A.V. & Martin, S. (1992) Impact of soil fauna on the properties of soils in the humid tropics. pp. 157–185in Lal, R. & Sanchez, P.A. (Eds) Myths and science of soils of the tropics: proceedings SSSA 17 October 1993 Las Vegas, Nevada. Soil Science Society of America. Inc, Madison USA.Google Scholar
Lavelle, P., Lattaud, C., Trigo, D. & Barois, L. (1994) Mutualism and biodiversity in soils. Plant and Soil 170, 23–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lawson, G.J. (1995) Growth of indigenous tree plantations in the Mbalmayo Forest Reserve. Report. Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, Edinburgh, UK.Google Scholar
Lawson, G.J., Mason, P.A., Ngeh, P.A.Musoko, M., Eamus, D. & Leakey, R.R.B. (1990) Endomycorrhizal and nutrient cycling in indigenous hardwood plantations in Cameroon – effects of different systems of site preparation. Final Report to UK Overseas Development Authority (ODA).Google Scholar
Lee, K.E. & Wood, T.G. (1971) Physical and chemical effects on soils of some Australian termites, and their pedological significance. Pedobiologia 11, 376–409.Google Scholar
Lobry de Bruyn, L.A. & Conacher, A.J. (1995) Soil modification by termites in the central wheatbelt of western Australia. Australian Journal of Soil Research 33, 179–193.Google Scholar
Maldague, M.E. (1967) Importance des populations de termites dans les sols equatoriaux. pp. 743–752 in Transactions of the eighth International Congress of Soil ScienceBucharest – Romania1964. vol. 3. Publishing House of the Academy of the Social Republic of Romania.Google Scholar
Mulongoy, K. & Bedoret, A. (1989) Properties of worm castes and surface soils under various plant covers in the humid tropics. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 21, 197–203.Google Scholar
Nash, M.H. & Whitford, W.G. (1995) Subterranean termites: regulators of soil organic matter in the Chihuahuan desert. Biology and Fertility of Soils 19, 15–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Norgrove, L. & Hauser, S. (1998) Effects of tree density and crop management upon growth of plantain in low-input agrisilvicultural system. Acta Horticulturae (in press).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roonwal, M.L. (1979) Termite life and termite control in tropical South Asia. India, Scientific Publishers.Google Scholar
Sands, W.A. (1973) Termites as pests of tropical food crops. Pest Articles and News Summaries 19, 167–177.Google Scholar
Scholes, M.C., Swift, M.J., Heal, O.W., Sanchez, P.A., Ingram, J.S.I. & Dalal, R. (1994) Soil fertility research in response to the demand for sustainability. pp. 1–14in Woomer, P.J. & Swift, M.J. (Eds) The biological management of tropical soil fertility. Chichester, John Wiley and Sons.Google Scholar
Smith, F.D.M., Pellew, R., Johnson, T.H. & Walter, K.R. (1993) How much do we know about the current extinction rate? Trends in Ecology and Evolution 8, 375–378.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Swift, M.J. & Mutsaers, H.J.W. (1992) IITA research for Humid Forest Zone, 1993–1998. International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Ibadan, Nigeria.Google Scholar
Veeresh, G.K. & Belavadi, V.V. (1986) Influence of termite foraging on the fertility status of the soil. Journal of Soil Biology and Ecology 6, 53–66.Google Scholar
Whittaker, R.H. (1972) Communities and ecosystems. New York, Macmillan.Google Scholar
Wood, T.G. (1996) The agricultural importance of termites in the tropics. Agricultural Zoology Reviews 7, 117–155.Google Scholar
Wood, T.G. & Cowie, R.H. (1988) Assessment of on-farm losses in cereals in Africa due to soil insects. Insect Science and Its Application 9, 709–716.Google Scholar
Wood, T.G. & Sands, W.A. (1978) The role of termites in ecosystems. pp. 245–292in Brian, M.V. (Ed.) Production ecology of ants and termites. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Wood, T.G., Johnson, R.A., Bacchus, S., Shittu, M.O. & Anderson, J.M. (1982) Abundance and distribution of termites in a Riparian forest in the southern Guinea savanna vegetation zone of Nigeria. Biotropica 14, 25–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Woomer, P.L. & Swift, M.J. (1994) The biological management of tropical soil fertility. Chichester, John Wiley and Sons.Google Scholar