Termite mounds in tropical Asia are puzzlingly different from those in Africa

Everyone knows that the only part of the world that bears any faunistic resemblance to Africa is tropical Asia, particularly the Indian subcontinent.

However, what may be poorly appreciated by most naturalists is how this relates to the ecologically important fungus-culturing termites, Macrotermes and Odontotermes.

Both of these genera occur in both Africa and Asia. However, the main differences are that the largest above-ground structures

• are built by Macrotermes in Africa, vs by Odontotermes in Asia, and
• are far smaller in Asia than in Africa.

Lee and Wood (1971), on page 172, states:
"Large termite mounds (species not identified) are common on grey soils near Soekamandi (https://mapcarta.com/15598374) in Java."

Mounds, large enough to be sites for the cultivation of dryland crops, are scattered through rice paddies on the flat lowlands of Thailand.

In Sri Lanka, mounds of Odontotermes redemanni (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odontotermes_redemanni#:~:text=Odontotermes%20redemanni%2C%20is%20a%20species,of%20sugarcane%2C%20tea%20and%20coconut.) are large enough for the cultivation of crops.

In central Congo, there are large fossil mounds (now abandoned) of termites, dating from a previous dry period. These nave densities of 4-7/ha, and occupy 30% of the ground surface. The outer layer of these mounds is fairly fertile. However, the central mass consists of subsoil, which has proven to be infertile for cultivated crops when levelled. In this area, horticulture has produced large patches of sterile ground.

Hesse (1955) noted that, in many areas of East Africa, the mounds of termites are used as earth-licks (i.e. for geophagy), by Bos and wild ungulates. (My commentary: in my experience, this includes the relatively small mounds of Odontotermes.)

The chapter 'Effects on vegetation' in Lee and Wood (1971, pp. 162 ff) is a good review of the patterns of vegetation on large mounds. "In Thailand, Pendleton (1941) noted that large termite mounds (Macrotermitinae) were occupied by a dense growth of trees and shrubs which did not grow well, if at all, on the padi or forested land around them".

Publicado el junio 4, 2023 02:06 MAÑANA por milewski