Termites can decompose more than half of deadwood in tropical rainforest

dc.contributor.authorGriffiths, Hannah M.
dc.contributor.authorAshton, Louise A.
dc.contributor.authorEvans, Theodore A.
dc.contributor.authorParr, Catherine Lucy
dc.contributor.authorEggleton, Paul
dc.date.accessioned2020-07-30T14:34:18Z
dc.date.available2020-07-30T14:34:18Z
dc.date.issued2019-02-18
dc.description.abstractGlobally, an estimated 73 ± 6 Pg of carbon is contained in deadwood, representing roughly 30 times the amount of carbon sequestered by forests annually. Decomposition transfers this carbon to the soil, other organisms or the atmosphere, but it is not clear how different biological agents contribute to the decomposition process. Using a novel large-scale termite suppression experiment in old growth tropical forest, we quantify, for the first time, the relative contribution of microbes and termites to deadwood decomposition. Contrary to prevailing understanding, we demonstrate that termites can be responsible for the majority of wood mass loss. Using a dead wood decomposition assay, we found termites were responsible for 58–64% of total mass loss, while microbes carried out 36–42%. Tropical forests are globally important for biodiversity and ecosystem service provision, yet climate change and habitat conversion threaten the functioning of these forests with repercussions for the global biosphere. Our study demonstrates that termite-mediated deadwood decay must be included in global carbon models. These findings will consequently help improve the accuracy of Earth-system models and climate forecasts in the face of global change.en_ZA
dc.description.departmentZoology and Entomologyen_ZA
dc.description.librarianam2020en_ZA
dc.description.urihttps://www.journals.elsevier.com/current-biologyen_ZA
dc.identifier.citationGriffiths, H.M., Ashton, L.A., Evans, T.A. et al. 2019, 'Termites can decompose more than half of deadwood in tropical rainforest', Current Biology, vol. 29, no. 4, pp. R118–R119.en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn0960-9822 (print)
dc.identifier.issn1879-0445 (online)
dc.identifier.other10.1016/j.cub.2019.01.012
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/75505
dc.language.isoenen_ZA
dc.publisherElsevieren_ZA
dc.rights© 2019 The Authors. This is an open access article under the CC BY license.en_ZA
dc.subjectCarbonen_ZA
dc.subjectDeadwooden_ZA
dc.subjectTermitesen_ZA
dc.subjectDecomposition processen_ZA
dc.subjectTropical rainforesten_ZA
dc.titleTermites can decompose more than half of deadwood in tropical rainforesten_ZA
dc.typeArticleen_ZA

Files

Original bundle

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Griffiths_Termites_2019.pdf
Size:
146.49 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Article
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Griffiths_TermitesSuppl_2019.pdf
Size:
381.71 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Supplementary Material

License bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.75 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description: