Keywords :
Carbon mineralization; Dry evergreen forest; Ecosystem scale; Fungus-combs; Nitrogen
fixation; Respiration
บทคัดย่อ :
The importance of termites in decomposition processes is widely recognized, and is frequently emphasized especially in savannas. In tropical forests, there have been only a few studies that quantitatively demonstrated the roles of termites as a decomposer. We quantified the importance of termites in terms of carbon mineralization and nitrogen fixation on the basis of biomass data in a dry evergreen forest, northeast Thailand. By using observed respiration rates from termite individuals and fungus-combs with their biomasses, they were estimated to mineralize 11.2% of carbon (C) in the annual aboveground litterfall (AAL). Of these, fungus-combs were responsible for a major part (7.2% of the AAL) of the C mineralization mediated by termites. We measured nitrogen (N) fixation rates of termites and asymbiotic (free-living) bacteria in litter, dead wood and soil, and estimated the
total N inputs from fixation to decomposing plant material on the forest floor. Annual mounts of N fixed by termites and asymbiotic bacteria were calculated to be 0.28 and 3.95 kg ha-1, respectively, showing that termites are responsible for 6.6% of the total.
เอกสารอ้างอิง :
Yamada, A., Wawatwitaya, D., & Inoue, T. (2008) Ecosystem-Scale Studies on the Role of Termites in Decomposition Processes of a Dry Evergreen Forest, Northeast Thailand.
