2004 比较培菌白蚁.pdf

Applied Soil Ecology 27 (2004) 99–107 Association between subterranean termites and grasses in a West African savanna: spatial pattern analysis shows a significant role for Odontotermes n. pauperans P. Jouquet a,∗, N. Boulain a , J. Gignoux a , M. Lepageb a Laboratoire d’Ecologie, UMR 7625, Ecole Normale Supérieure, 46 rue d’Ulm, 75230 Paris 05, France b IRD, 01 BP 182 Ouagadougou 01, Burkina Faso, France Received 3 November 2003; received in revised form 10 May 2004; accepted 19 May 2004 Abstract Fungus-growing termites (Isoptera, Macrotermitinae) play an important role in tropical ecosystems: they modify soil physical properties and thereby make food available for other organisms. These impacts justify considering the fungus-growing termites as ecosystem engineers. Fungus-growing termites have been classified in the same group because of their influence on soil properties. The aim of this work was to compare the influence of three fungus-growing termite species on the ˆ spatial pattern of some savanna grass species in a Guinean savanna (Cote d’Ivoire). Our study illustrates differences in the relationship between termite-built structures (fungus-comb chambers and lenticular mounds) and grasses. We suggest that Odontotermes n. pauperans can strongly influence the pattern of some grass species. Conversely, Microtermes toumodiensis and Ancistrotermes cavithorax appear to have no or little influences on grass species distribution, at the scale studied. Consequently, fungus-growing termites should not be regarded as a single functional group when considering their influence on grass communities. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All ri