Articles | Volume 20, issue 19
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4029-2023
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4029-2023
Research article
 | 
04 Oct 2023
Research article |  | 04 Oct 2023

Carbon dioxide and methane fluxes from mounds of African fungus-growing termites

Matti Räsänen, Risto Vesala, Petri Rönnholm, Laura Arppe, Petra Manninen, Markus Jylhä, Jouko Rikkinen, Petri Pellikka, and Janne Rinne

Related authors

The effect of rainfall amount and timing on annual transpiration in a grazed savanna grassland
Matti Räsänen, Mika Aurela, Ville Vakkari, Johan P. Beukes, Juha-Pekka Tuovinen, Pieter G. Van Zyl, Miroslav Josipovic, Stefan J. Siebert, Tuomas Laurila, Markku Kulmala, Lauri Laakso, Janne Rinne, Ram Oren, and Gabriel Katul
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 5773–5791, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-5773-2022,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-5773-2022, 2022
Short summary
Seasonal and diurnal variations in biogenic volatile organic compounds in highland and lowland ecosystems in southern Kenya
Yang Liu, Simon Schallhart, Ditte Taipale, Toni Tykkä, Matti Räsänen, Lutz Merbold, Heidi Hellén, and Petri Pellikka
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 14761–14787, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14761-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14761-2021, 2021
Short summary
Soil greenhouse gas emissions under different land-use types in savanna ecosystems of Kenya
Sheila Wachiye, Lutz Merbold, Timo Vesala, Janne Rinne, Matti Räsänen, Sonja Leitner, and Petri Pellikka
Biogeosciences, 17, 2149–2167, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-2149-2020,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-2149-2020, 2020
Short summary
The effect of rainfall amount and timing on annual transpiration in grazed savanna grassland
Matti Räsänen, Mika Aurela, Ville Vakkari, Johan P. Beukes, Juha-Pekka Tuovinen, Pieter G. Van Zyl, Miroslav Josipovic, Stefan J. Siebert, Tuomas Laurila, Markku Kulmala, Lauri Laakso, Janne Rinne, Ram Oren, and Gabriel Katul
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2019-651,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2019-651, 2020
Revised manuscript not accepted
Short summary
Carbon balance of a grazed savanna grassland ecosystem in South Africa
Matti Räsänen, Mika Aurela, Ville Vakkari, Johan P. Beukes, Juha-Pekka Tuovinen, Pieter G. Van Zyl, Miroslav Josipovic, Andrew D. Venter, Kerneels Jaars, Stefan J. Siebert, Tuomas Laurila, Janne Rinne, and Lauri Laakso
Biogeosciences, 14, 1039–1054, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-1039-2017,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-1039-2017, 2017
Short summary

Related subject area

Biogeochemistry: Greenhouse Gases
Rising Arctic seas and thawing permafrost: uncovering the carbon cycle impact in a thermokarst lagoon system in the outer Mackenzie Delta, Canada
Maren Jenrich, Juliane Wolter, Susanne Liebner, Christian Knoblauch, Guido Grosse, Fiona Giebeler, Dustin Whalen, and Jens Strauss
Biogeosciences, 22, 2069–2086, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-2069-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-2069-2025, 2025
Short summary
Modelling decadal trends and the impact of extreme events on carbon fluxes in a temperate deciduous forest using a terrestrial biosphere model
Tea Thum, Tuuli Miinalainen, Outi Seppälä, Holly Croft, Cheryl Rogers, Ralf Staebler, Silvia Caldararu, and Sönke Zaehle
Biogeosciences, 22, 1781–1807, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1781-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1781-2025, 2025
Short summary
Surface CO2 gradients challenge conventional CO2 emission quantification in lentic water bodies under calm conditions
Patrick Aurich, Uwe Spank, and Matthias Koschorreck
Biogeosciences, 22, 1697–1709, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1697-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1697-2025, 2025
Short summary
Spatiotemporal variability of CO2, N2O and CH4 fluxes from a semi-deciduous tropical forest soil in the Congo Basin
Roxanne Daelman, Marijn Bauters, Matti Barthel, Emmanuel Bulonza, Lodewijk Lefevre, José Mbifo, Johan Six, Klaus Butterbach-Bahl, Benjamin Wolf, Ralf Kiese, and Pascal Boeckx
Biogeosciences, 22, 1529–1542, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1529-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1529-2025, 2025
Short summary
Eddy-covariance fluxes of CO2, CH4 and N2O in a drained peatland forest after clear-cutting
Olli-Pekka Tikkasalo, Olli Peltola, Pavel Alekseychik, Juha Heikkinen, Samuli Launiainen, Aleksi Lehtonen, Qian Li, Eduardo Martínez-García, Mikko Peltoniemi, Petri Salovaara, Ville Tuominen, and Raisa Mäkipää
Biogeosciences, 22, 1277–1300, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1277-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1277-2025, 2025
Short summary

Cited articles

Agarwal, V. B.: Temperature and relative humidity inside the mound of Odontotermes obesus (Rambur) (Isoptera: Termitidae), Proc. Anim. Sci., 89, 91–99, https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03179148, 1980. 
Amara, E., Adhikari, H., Heiskanen, J., Siljander, M., Munyao, M., Omondi, P., and Pellikka, P.: Aboveground Biomass Distribution in a Multi-Use Savannah Landscape in Southeastern Kenya: Impact of Land Use and Fences, Land, 9, 381, https://doi.org/10.3390/land9100381, 2020. 
Bagine, R., Brandl, R., and Kaib, M.: Species Delimitation in Macrotermes (Isoptera: Macrotermitidae): Evidence from Epicuticular Hydrocarbons, Morphology, and Ecology, Ann. Entom. Soc. Am., 87, 498–506, 1994. 
Bignell, D. E. and Eggleton, P.: Termites in ecosystems, in Termites: Evolution, Sociality, Symbioses and Ecology, edited by: Abe, T., Bignell, D. E., and Higashi, M., Springer, 363–387, 2000. 
Boutton, T. W., Arshad, M. A., and Tieszen, L. L.: Stable isotope analysis of termite food habits in East African grasslands, Oecologia, 59, 1–6, https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00388065, 1983. 
Download
Short summary
Fungus-growing termites recycle large parts of dead plant material in African savannas and are significant sources of greenhouse gases. We measured CO2 and CH4 fluxes from their mounds and surrounding soils in open and closed habitats. The fluxes scale with mound volume. The results show that emissions from mounds of fungus-growing termites are more stable than those from other termites. The soil fluxes around the mound are affected by the termite colonies at up to 2 m distance from the mound.
Share
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint