Miombo woodlands cover extensive areas in southern and southeastern Africa, but are under high anthropogenic pressure. A conspicuous feature of this ecosystem is the presence of high termitaria (>2 m high) built by fungus‐growing termites (Macrotermitinae). Despite the fundamental role of termites in African ecosystems, miombo termite communities remain poorly known. We suspected high termitaria to play a structuring role for the whole termite assemblage of miombo woodlands in southern Burundi. In a formerly cleared area, in regeneration since 2009, we expected the termite assemblage to be highly impoverished. The newly growing termitaria of fungus growers might provide suitable bases for recolonisation by soil‐feeding species. We recorded 25 species from more than 1000 termite samples. Fungus growers were abundant everywhere. In preserved miombo, high termitaria were home to secondary soil‐feeding termite species, seldom encountered in the matrix between mounds. Bushes growing on termitaria also sustained wood‐feeding species. The most remarkable feature of the assemblage was the high frequency and diversity of soil‐feeding soldierless Apicotermitinae, especially in the matrix. Besides scarce Coptotermes wood feeders, Macrotermitinae were the sole inhabitants of the regenerating area. Our results emphasize the importance of high termitaria for particular soil‐feeding species and wood feeders associated with the vegetation growing on termitaria. They raise the question of the ecological factors allowing the coexistence of a rich assemblage of soldierless Apicotermitinae species in the nutrient‐poor matrix between mounds. The observations from regenerating miombo confirm the vulnerability of soil‐feeding termites to habitat degradation and provide baseline data for future studies of ecosystem restoration.

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Termites characterize most of tropical and subtropical landscapes where they are important ecosystem engineers, structuring the biodiversity. In Africa, not only large number of species remain to be described, but also ecological studies on the termite fauna of the continent are scarce. For instance, the mechanisms underlying termite mounds distribution in ecosystems are still poorly known. The main goal of this study was to assess what determines the distribution of soil termites playing an important role in the recycling of organic matter. The case of Cubitermes pallidiceps Sjöstedt (Isoptera: Cubitermitinae) was taken as a model. In Rumonge Forest, a woodland miombo of 600 ha in southwestern Burundi, we collected soil samples and data on tree density and diameter in 18 sites, six of which were home to mounds of C. pallidiceps. Multiple logistic regressions were used to evaluate the influence of soil properties and elevation on the occurrence of C. pallidiceps. Spatial autocorrelation structure in the model residuals was corrected by the integration of selected spatial predictors generated with the Moran's eigenvectors maps (MEM) method. C. pallidiceps was present in miombo areas where the tree density was low, therefore with a more opened canopy, probably for maximizing its survival during fires which are frequent in this ecosystem. It was absent in stony places such as hill tops, probably because of food limitation. Soil with high sand content and the highest measured clay content seemed to favour the occurrence of C. pallidiceps. Its distribution was also influenced by undetermined spatially-structured variables, which could correspond to unmeasured environmental variables such as soil nutrient or toxic elements, or variables related to dispersal abilities or biotic interactions with other species. Our results suggested that soil termites of miombo ecosystems would have evolved in this stressful environment to maximize their uptake in the local nutrient-poor soils, and particularly to synchronize their survival with the miombo phenology vegetation.