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 rainfall events modify trace gas mixing ratios in central Amazonia
Luiz A. T. Machado, Jürgen Kesselmeier, Santiago Botía, Hella van Asperen, Meinrat O. Andreae, Alessandro C. de Araújo, Paulo Artaxo, Achim Edtbauer, Rosaria R. Ferreira, Marco A. Franco, Hartwig Harder, Sam P. Jones, Cléo Q. Dias-Júnior, Guido G. Haytzmann, Carlos A. Quesada, Shujiro Komiya, Jost Lavric, Jos Lelieveld, Ingeborg Levin, Anke Nölscher, Eva Pfannerstill, Mira L. 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
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 8893–8910, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8893-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8893-2024, 2024
Short summary
The emission of CO from tropical rainforest 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
Biogeosciences, 21, 3183–3199, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3183-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3183-2024, 2024
Short summary
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
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
Nitrous oxide (N2O) in Macquarie Harbour, Tasmania
Johnathan Daniel Maxey, Neil D. Hartstein, Hermann W. Bange, and Moritz Müller
Biogeosciences, 21, 5613–5637, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-5613-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-5613-2024, 2024
Short summary
Technical note: A low-cost, automatic soil–plant–atmosphere enclosure system to investigate CO2 and evapotranspiration flux dynamics
Wael Al Hamwi, Maren Dubbert, Jörg Schaller, Matthias Lück, Marten Schmidt, and Mathias Hoffmann
Biogeosciences, 21, 5639–5651, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-5639-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-5639-2024, 2024
Short summary
Tidal influence on carbon dioxide and methane fluxes from tree stems and soils in mangrove forests
Zhao-Jun Yong, Wei-Jen Lin, Chiao-Wen Lin, and Hsing-Juh Lin
Biogeosciences, 21, 5247–5260, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-5247-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-5247-2024, 2024
Short summary
Drought conditions disrupt atmospheric carbon uptake in a Mediterranean saline lake
Ihab Alfadhel, Ignacio Peralta-Maraver, Isabel Reche, Enrique P. Sánchez-Cañete, Sergio Aranda-Barranco, Eva Rodríguez-Velasco, Andrew S. Kowalski, and Penélope Serrano-Ortiz
Biogeosciences, 21, 5117–5129, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-5117-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-5117-2024, 2024
Short summary
Physicochemical perturbation increases nitrous oxide production from denitrification in soils and sediments
Nathaniel B. Weston, Cynthia Troy, Patrick J. Kearns, Jennifer L. Bowen, William Porubsky, Christelle Hyacinthe, Christof Meile, Philippe Van Cappellen, and Samantha B. Joye
Biogeosciences, 21, 4837–4851, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4837-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4837-2024, 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