Mound building termites contribute to savanna vegetation heterogeneity- woody plants, forbs and graminoids

Stein R. Moe

doi:10.15468/jgqm7v

Mound building termites contribute to savanna vegetation heterogeneity- woody plants, forbs and graminoids

Citation

Moe S R, Steinert M (2018). Mound building termites contribute to savanna vegetation heterogeneity- woody plants, forbs and graminoids. Version 1.4. Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management. Occurrence dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/jgqm7v accessed via GBIF.org on 2019-01-24.

Description

With biomass densities comparable to large ungulates and megaherbivores, termites play a key functional role in many tropical savanna ecosystems. This study focuses on vegetated termite mounds (termitaria) constructed by the Termitidae species Macrotermes herus. We studied how resource rich termitaria affect graminoid herbs (Poaceae and Cyperaceae), forbs and woody species composition and diversity. The density of termitaria explained 89% of the variation in dense thickets in the area. Fire tolerant Acacia species dominated the open savanna while fire sensitive species like Grewia spp. and the succulent Euphorbia candelabrum were restricted to termite mounds. Termitaria plots had four times the mean number of woody species and supported three times as many forb species as the adjacent savanna. For woody species, both the Shannon–Wiener index and the Shannon evenness index were higher on temitaria than on the savanna. There were no differences for graminoid herbs, except for the Shannon evenness index which was higher on termitaria. Our results indicate that graminoid herb richness peaks at lower productivity levels than trees and forbs in savanna ecosystems, as also recently found in temperate areas.

Taxonomic Coverages

Geographic Coverages

Uganda, Lake Mburo National Park

Bibliographic Citations

Moe, Stein R., Ragnhild Mobæk, and Anne Kjersti Narmo. "Mound building termites contribute to savanna vegetation heterogeneity." Plant Ecology 202.1 (2009): 31. -

Contacts

Stein R. Moe
originator
NMBU
Ås
NO
email: stein.moe@nmbu.no

Mari Steinert
metadata author
NMBU
Ås
NO
email: mari.steinert@nmbu.no

Stein R. Moe
author
NMBU
Ås
NO
email: stein.moe@nmbu.no

Ragnhild Mobæk
author
NMBU
Ås
NO

Anne Kjersti Narmo
author
NMBU
Ås
NO

Stein R. Moe
administrative point of contact
NMBU
Ås
NO
email: stein.moe@nmbu.no