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

How long does carbon stay in a near-pristine central Amazon forest? An empirical estimate with radiocarbon
Ingrid Chanca, Ingeborg Levin, Susan Trumbore, Kita Macario, Jost Lavric, Carlos Alberto Quesada, Alessandro Carioca de Araújo, Cléo Quaresma Dias Júnior, Hella van Asperen, Samuel Hammer, and Carlos Sierra
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-883,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-883, 2024
Short summary
How Rainfall Events Modify Trace Gas Concentrations in Central Amazonia
Luiz A. T. Machado, Jürgen Kesselmeier, Santiago Botia, Hella Van Asperen, Alessandro C. de Araújo, Paulo Artaxo, Achim Edtbauer, Rosa Ferreira, Hartwig Harder, Sam Jones, Cléo Q. Dias-Júnior, Guido G. Haytzmann, Carlos A. Quesada, Shujiro Komiya, Jost Lavric, Jos Lelieveld, Ingeborg Levin, Anke Nölscher, Eva Pfannerstill, Mira Pöhlker, Ulrich Pöschl, Akima Ringsdorf, Luciana Rizzo, Ana M. Yáñez-Serrano, Susan Trumbore, Wanda I. D. Valenti, Jordi Vila-Guerau de Arellano, David Walter, Jonathan Williams, Stefan Wolff, and Christopher Pöhlker
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2901,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2901, 2024
Short summary
The emission of CO from tropical rain forest soils
Hella van Asperen, Thorsten Warneke, Alessandro Carioca de Araújo, Bruce Forsberg, Sávio José Filgueiras Ferreira, Thomas Röckmann, Carina van der Veen, Sipko Bulthuis, Leonardo Ramos de Oliveira, Thiago de Lima Xavier, Jailson da Mata, Marta de Oliveira Sá, Paulo Ricardo Teixeira, Julie Andrews de França e Silva, Susan Trumbore, and Justus Notholt
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2746,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2746, 2023
Short summary
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
Timescale dependence of airborne fraction and underlying climate–carbon-cycle feedbacks for weak perturbations in CMIP5 models
Guilherme L. Torres Mendonça, Julia Pongratz, and Christian H. Reick
Biogeosciences, 21, 1923–1960, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1923-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1923-2024, 2024
Short summary
Technical note: Preventing CO2 overestimation from mercuric or copper(II) chloride preservation of dissolved greenhouse gases in freshwater samples
François Clayer, Jan Erik Thrane, Kuria Ndungu, Andrew King, Peter Dörsch, and Thomas Rohrlack
Biogeosciences, 21, 1903–1921, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1903-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1903-2024, 2024
Short summary
Exploring temporal and spatial variation of nitrous oxide flux using several years of peatland forest automatic chamber data
Helena Rautakoski, Mika Korkiakoski, Jarmo Mäkelä, Markku Koskinen, Kari Minkkinen, Mika Aurela, Paavo Ojanen, and Annalea Lohila
Biogeosciences, 21, 1867–1886, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1867-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1867-2024, 2024
Short summary
Diurnal versus spatial variability of greenhouse gas emissions from an anthropogenically modified lowland river in Germany
Matthias Koschorreck, Norbert Kamjunke, Uta Koedel, Michael Rode, Claudia Schuetze, and Ingeborg Bussmann
Biogeosciences, 21, 1613–1628, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1613-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1613-2024, 2024
Short summary
Regional assessment and uncertainty analysis of carbon and nitrogen balances at cropland scale using the ecosystem model LandscapeDNDC
Odysseas Sifounakis, Edwin Haas, Klaus Butterbach-Bahl, and Maria P. Papadopoulou
Biogeosciences, 21, 1563–1581, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1563-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1563-2024, 2024
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