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Termites facilitate root foraging by trees in a Bornean tropical forest

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 September 2013

Mingzhen Lu ,
Mircea Davidescu ,
Rahayu Sukmaria Sukri  and
Joshua H. Daskin
Mingzhen Lu
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA08544
Mircea Davidescu
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA08544
Rahayu Sukmaria Sukri
Affiliation:
Faculty of Science, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Jln Tungku Link, Gadong BE 1410, Brunei Darussalam
Joshua H. Daskin*
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA08544
*
1Corresponding author. Email: daskin@princeton.edu
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Abstract:

Plants can develop novel adaptations for nutrient acquisition in nutrient-limited ecosystems. These adaptations include colonization by roots of tree trunks and logs that can act as nutrient reservoirs. Termites may facilitate this root colonization by digging tunnels and accelerating decomposition in logs and tree trunks. We measured the frequency with which above-ground tree root colonization co-occurs with the presence of termites or their tunnels inside living trees above 20 cm dbh (n = 178) and dead tree trunks and logs at least 15 cm in diameter (n = 146) in a Bornean tropical forest. Roots above the soil surface co-occur with termite tunnels 39% more frequently than expected by chance in trunks of living trees and 17% more frequently than expected by chance in logs. By categorizing logs according to hardness through ease of penetration, we found that softer logs at a late stage of decay did not show co-occurrence of termite activity and roots to the same extent as harder logs. This suggests that trees forage where termites have removed physical barriers to colonization. In this fashion, termites may accelerate nutrient cycling in tropical rain forests.

Keywords

BorneoBruneidecompositionfacilitationforagingrain forestrootstermites
Type
Short Communication
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 29 , Issue 6 , November 2013 , pp. 563 - 566
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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