Context-dependent directional effects of termite mounds on soil nutrients, vegetation communities, and mammalian foraging

IF 2.7 3区 环境科学与生态学 Q2 ECOLOGY Ecosphere Pub Date : 2024-09-11 DOI:10.1002/ecs2.4978
Andrew B. Davies, Shaun R. Levick, Berndt J. van Rensburg, Mark P. Robertson, Catherine L. Parr
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Abstract

Termite mounds are keystone structures in African savannas, affecting multiple ecosystem processes. Despite the large size of termite mounds having the potential to modify conditions around them, patterns of mound-induced ecosystem effects have been assumed to be isotropic, with little attention given to how effects might vary around mounds. We measured soil nitrogen content, grass species composition, and mammalian grazing on and off termite mounds in the four cardinal directions, and across wet and dry seasons at three savanna sites varying in mean annual rainfall in South Africa's Kruger National Park. Evidence of directional effects (anisotropy) on ecosystem properties around termite mounds varied with site. Grass species composition differed between north- and south-facing slopes at the two drier sites where mounds were taller. However, differences in grazing extent and soil nitrogen content around mounds were only present at the intermediate rainfall site where mammalian herbivore biomass was highest, and mounds were of medium height. Our results suggest that termite mound effects display significant variation with direction, but that the emergence of directional effects is context dependent. Our results further suggest that such context-dependent directional effects can lead to positive feedback loops between termites, abiotic conditions, and mammalian herbivores.

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白蚁冢对土壤养分、植被群落和哺乳动物觅食的定向影响与环境有关
白蚁丘是非洲热带稀树草原的关键结构,影响着多种生态系统过程。尽管白蚁冢体积庞大,有可能改变其周围的条件,但白蚁冢引起的生态系统效应模式一直被认为是各向同性的,很少有人关注白蚁冢周围的效应如何变化。我们在南非克鲁格国家公园年平均降雨量不同的三个热带稀树草原地点,测量了白蚁丘上和白蚁丘外四个方向的土壤氮含量、草种组成和哺乳动物放牧情况,以及整个雨季和旱季的情况。白蚁冢周围生态系统特性的方向效应(各向异性)因地点而异。在白蚁冢较高的两个较干燥地点,朝北和朝南的斜坡上的草种组成不同。然而,白蚁冢周围的放牧范围和土壤氮含量只有在降雨量中等、哺乳动物食草动物生物量最高、白蚁冢高度中等的地点才存在差异。我们的研究结果表明,白蚁丘的影响随方向的变化而显著不同,但方向影响的出现与环境有关。我们的研究结果进一步表明,这种依赖于环境的方向性效应可能会导致白蚁、非生物条件和哺乳类食草动物之间的正反馈循环。
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来源期刊
Ecosphere
Ecosphere ECOLOGY-
CiteScore
4.70
自引率
3.70%
发文量
378
审稿时长
15 weeks
期刊介绍: The scope of Ecosphere is as broad as the science of ecology itself. The journal welcomes submissions from all sub-disciplines of ecological science, as well as interdisciplinary studies relating to ecology. The journal''s goal is to provide a rapid-publication, online-only, open-access alternative to ESA''s other journals, while maintaining the rigorous standards of peer review for which ESA publications are renowned.
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