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

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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
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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.
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