Articles | Volume 18, issue 8
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-2609-2021
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-2609-2021
Research article
 | 
26 Apr 2021
Research article |  | 26 Apr 2021

The role of termite CH4 emissions on the ecosystem scale: a case study in the Amazon rainforest

Hella van Asperen, João Rafael Alves-Oliveira, Thorsten Warneke, Bruce Forsberg, Alessandro Carioca de Araújo, and Justus Notholt

Related authors

Global soil consumption of atmospheric carbon monoxide: an analysis using a process-based biogeochemistry model
Licheng Liu, Qianlai Zhuang, Qing Zhu, Shaoqing Liu, Hella van Asperen, and Mari Pihlatie
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 7913–7931, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-7913-2018,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-7913-2018, 2018
Short summary
The role of photo- and thermal degradation for CO2 and CO fluxes in an arid ecosystem
H. van Asperen, T. Warneke, S. Sabbatini, G. Nicolini, D. Papale, and J. Notholt
Biogeosciences, 12, 4161–4174, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-4161-2015,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-4161-2015, 2015
Short summary

Related subject area

Biogeochemistry: Greenhouse Gases
Meteorological responses of carbon dioxide and methane fluxes in the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems of a subarctic landscape
Lauri Heiskanen, Juha-Pekka Tuovinen, Henriikka Vekuri, Aleksi Räsänen, Tarmo Virtanen, Sari Juutinen, Annalea Lohila, Juha Mikola, and Mika Aurela
Biogeosciences, 20, 545–572, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-545-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-545-2023, 2023
Short summary
Carbon emission and export from the Ket River, western Siberia
Artem G. Lim, Ivan V. Krickov, Sergey N. Vorobyev, Mikhail A. Korets, Sergey Kopysov, Liudmila S. Shirokova, Jan Karlsson, and Oleg S. Pokrovsky
Biogeosciences, 19, 5859–5877, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5859-2022,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5859-2022, 2022
Short summary
Evaluation of wetland CH4 in the Joint UK Land Environment Simulator (JULES) land surface model using satellite observations
Robert J. Parker, Chris Wilson, Edward Comyn-Platt, Garry Hayman, Toby R. Marthews, A. Anthony Bloom, Mark F. Lunt, Nicola Gedney, Simon J. Dadson, Joe McNorton, Neil Humpage, Hartmut Boesch, Martyn P. Chipperfield, Paul I. Palmer, and Dai Yamazaki
Biogeosciences, 19, 5779–5805, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5779-2022,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5779-2022, 2022
Short summary
Greenhouse gas fluxes in mangrove forest soil in an Amazon estuary
Saúl Edgardo Martínez Castellón, José Henrique Cattanio, José Francisco Berrêdo, Marcelo Rollnic, Maria de Lourdes Ruivo, and Carlos Noriega
Biogeosciences, 19, 5483–5497, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5483-2022,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5483-2022, 2022
Short summary
Temporal patterns and drivers of CO2 emission from dry sediments in a groyne field of a large river
Matthias Koschorreck, Klaus Holger Knorr, and Lelaina Teichert
Biogeosciences, 19, 5221–5236, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5221-2022,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5221-2022, 2022
Short summary

Cited articles

Ackerman, I. L.: Termites in ecosystems of central Amazonia: species composition, soil properties, and nutrient cycling, Cornell University, Aug., 2006. a
Ackerman, I. L., Teixeira, W. G., Riha, S. J., Lehmann, J., and Fernandes, E. C.: The impact of mound-building termites on surface soil properties in a secondary forest of Central Amazonia, Appl. Soil Ecol., 37, 267–276, 2007. a
Araújo, A. C., Nobre, A. D., Kruijt, B., Elbers, J. A., Dallarosa, R., Stefani, P., Von Randow, C., Manzi, A. O., Culf, A. D., Gash, J. H. C., and Valentini, R.: Comparative measurements of carbon dioxide fluxes from two nearby towers in a central Amazonian rainforest: The Manaus LBA site, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 107, LBA 58-1–LBA 58-20, https://doi.org/10.1029/2001JD000676, 2002. a
Ashton, L., Griffiths, H., Parr, C., Evans, T., Didham, R., Hasan, F., Teh, Y., Tin, H., Vairappan, C., and Eggleton, P.: Termites mitigate the effects of drought in tropical rainforest, Science, 363, 174–177, 2019. a
Bandeira, F. and Torres, M.: Abundancia e distribuicao de invertebrados do solo em ecossistemas da Amazonia Central. O papel ecologico dos cupins, Boletim do Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi Serie Zoologia, 2, 13–38, 1985. a
Download
Short summary
Termites are insects that are highly abundant in tropical ecosystems. It is known that termites emit CH4, an important greenhouse gas, but their absolute emission remains uncertain. In the Amazon rainforest, we measured CH4 emissions from termite nests and groups of termites. In addition, we tested a fast and non-destructive field method to estimate termite nest colony size. We found that termites play a significant role in an ecosystem's CH4 budget and probably emit more than currently assumed.
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint