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The role of mound-building termites in the nitrogen economy of semi-arid ecosystems

Congdon, Robert A. and Holt, J.A. and Hicks, W.S. (1993) The role of mound-building termites in the nitrogen economy of semi-arid ecosystems. In: Prestidge, RA (ed.). Proceedings of the 6th Australasian Conference on Grassland Invertebrate Ecology, 17-19 February 1993, Hamilton, New Zealand.

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Abstract

Termite mounds are a conspicuous feature of savanna ecosystems in semi-arid northern Australia. The mounds of two common species Amitermes laurensis and A. vitiosus were found to have average inorganic nitrogen concentrations which are 50 to 130 times higher than that of the surrounding surface soil. The use of ion exchange resin bags in the field, showed that inorganic nitrogen was leached from the mounds during rain events. A drip infiltrometer was used for leaching experiments with mounds in the laboratory. These experiments indicated that an average of 250 mg N would be leached from each mound for each 100 mm of rainfall. This would amount to only 6% of the standing stock of inorganic N in the soil, but could be a significant addition to the soil immediately adjacent to the mounds during the short wet season.

Item Type:Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Additional Information:Page numbers for paper are: 100-106
Keywords:termite mounds, nitrogen, Amitermes, semi-arid tropics, savanna
Subjects:270000 Biological Sciences > 270700 Ecology and Evolution > 270703 Terrestrial Ecology
ID Code:1369
Deposited By:Robert Congdon
Deposited On:15 May 2007
Last Modified:15 Oct 2008 19:44

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