Effects of different land use patterns on seasonal termite species diversity within the Vhembe district of the Limpopo province, South Africa

Netshifhefhe, Shandukani R.; Kunjeku, E.C.; Duncan, Frances D.

doi:10.1007/s42690-019-00081-y

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…Contrary to what was observed by Akpesse et al (2008) in Côte d'ivoire, and Ouedraogo et al (2015) in Burkina-Faso, but similarly to Debelo and Degaga, (2014) in Ethiopia, and Netshifhefhe et al (2019) in South Africa, wood feeders were the most abundant group in the surveyed maize fields. This abundance could be explained by the traditional management of soil fertility practiced by maize farmers in Republic of Benin, which use crop residues as mulch for conservation of soil moisture (Akplo et al, 2020).…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 72%

Termites and maize crops: assemblage composition, damage level, and varietal sensitivity in contrasting agro-ecological zones of the Republic of Benin

Loko

Toffa

Orobiyi

et al. 2021

International Journal of Pest Management

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Termites are considered as important pests of maize plantations in Republic of Benin. However, very little information is available on their assemblage composition, abundance, damages, and on the sensitivity of common maize varieties in Benin. This study aims to fill these gaps and provide baseline for the development of an integrated termite management in maize plantations. Therefore, 60 maize fields across 30 villages located in four agro-ecological zones of southern Benin were prospected using the standardized method of belt transects. In addition, the resistance of five maize varieties to termite attacks was evaluated on-farm during two consecutive seasons (2018 and 2019). Fifteen termite species belonging to 11 genera, 6 subfamilies and 3 families were collected in the prospected maize fields. Four species (Macrotermes subhyalinus Rambur, Coptotermes sjostedti Holmgren, Amitermes evuncifer Silvestri, and Trinevitermes germinatus Wasmann) were found in all agro-ecological zones with A. evuncifer as the most abundant species. High similarity indices of termite assemblages were found between the four agro-ecological zones. Wood-feeders group and species nesting in hypogeal nests were the mostly abundant in all agro-ecological zones. The attack rate of termites in maize fields was 16.9% and did not vary significantly between agro-ecological zones. A. evuncifer and C. sjostedti were significantly the most destructive species on the five evaluated varieties, although Trinevitermes oeconomus Trägardh was most abundant in leaf sheaths; M. subhyalinus and Macrotermes bellicossus Smeathman in the stem; Pseudacanthotermes militaris Hagen and Odontotermes sp. in the roots. Termite damage level to maize depended of the variety. Korga variety was classified as highly resistant to termite attacks; Agbadé kouin winiwini variety as resistant; Igbado tchakpa variety as moderately resistant. While, Elèkpèrè and Forkui varieties were classified as highly susceptible. The three maize varieties identified as resistant to termite attack should be included in the development of an integrated termite management program and in future breeding programs.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 72%

Termites and maize crops: assemblage composition, damage level, and varietal sensitivity in contrasting agro-ecological zones of the Republic of Benin

Loko

Toffa

Orobiyi

et al. 2021

International Journal of Pest Management

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“…The distribution of termites (like many other terrestrial arthropods) is driven by several factors, including soil richness (Park et al 1994;Bourguignon et al 2015), vegetation (Park et al 1994;Gillison et al 2003), and also the degree of anthropogenic disturbance (Hausberger and Korb 2016;Netshifhefhe et al 2019). In our study, the main factors examined were the soil richness in organic matter and its total organic carbon.…”

Section: Diversitymentioning

confidence: 80%

Termites’ diversity in a protected park of the northern Sudanian savanna of Togo (West Africa)

Effowe¹,

Kasseney²,

Ndiaye³

et al. 2021

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Termites occur in many ecosystems throughout tropical and subtropical areas. Their distribution is driven by several factors, including landscape and some soil characteristics. This study aims to determine soil organic matter’s role on termites’ diversity in a shrubby savanna park. Termites were sampled across transects in 3 sites of Galangashi park (northern part of Togo). The soil in which termites were harvested was analyzed to check organic matter’s influence on termites’ species richness. A total of 28 termite species belonging to 14 genera and 6 subfamilies were identified. Feeding group II (all fungus-growing termites, grass feeders, and wood feeders) was the most important among the three identified groups. Nine species (with two potentially new species for sciences: Amitermes sp and Eremotermes sp) were recorded for the first time in the country. A strong correlation was found between species richness, total organic matter, and total organic carbon, suggesting the influence of soil richness on termite distribution. The occurrence of the unique member of the feeding group I, Coptotermes intermedius Silvestri, 1912, as well as the occurrence of Fulleritermes tenebricus Silvestri, 1914 (both wood-dwelling termites), was certainly due to the vegetation. The relatively higher species richness as well as the correlation between the species richness and the organic matter of shrub savanna, suggest a better conservation of this landscape.

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“…Several factors including anthropogenic disturbances resulting from land use change affect termite diversity ( Muvengwi et al., 2017 ; Netshifhefhe et al., 2019 ). In this study, seven termite species were observed across the two Counties with Machakos County having the highest number—seven due to the presence of T. gratiosus .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Land use effects on termite assemblages in Kenya

Kanyi

Karuri

Nyasani

et al. 2021

Heliyon

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Termites perform key ecological functions and they also cause crop damage. Land use change resulting from agricultural intensification can result in changes in termite species diversity and abundance. Termite species occurring in natural vegetation, maize monocrop and maize-beans intercrop macrohabitats were investigated in Embu and Machakos Counties, Kenya. Influence of soil properties and seasons was also evaluated. Across the two Counties, seven termite species were recorded with Machakos County having the highest number. Additive diversity partitioning of species richness and Simpson diversity showed that, α component contributed to 98.3% and 99.1% of the total diversity, respectively. Population densities of three termite species significantly varied between land use types in Machakos County but there were no differences in termite species abundance in Embu County. In addition, there were no significant differences in species richness between macrohabitats within each County. In Embu, season significantly influenced the abundance of Macrotermes subhyalinus , M. herus , and Coptotermes formosanus which occurred in greater numbers during the wet season. There was a significant influence of land use on Trinervitermes gratiosus and C. formosanus in Machakos with both species occurring in higher numbers in natural vegetation. Trinervitermes gratiosus was negatively associated with Mn and positively correlated to pH and sand. Macrotermes subhyalinus and M. herus showed a positive association with P and silt while C. formosanus was positively correlated to Ca and Mg. These findings provide an insight into the effects of land use change from natural vegetation to maize agro-ecosystems on termite diversity. It also provides a baseline for further studies on termite diversity in Kenya and their ecological significance.

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Effects of different land use patterns on seasonal termite species diversity within the Vhembe district of the Limpopo province, South Africa

Cited by 8 publications

References 50 publications

Termites and maize crops: assemblage composition, damage level, and varietal sensitivity in contrasting agro-ecological zones of the Republic of Benin

Termites and maize crops: assemblage composition, damage level, and varietal sensitivity in contrasting agro-ecological zones of the Republic of Benin

Termites’ diversity in a protected park of the northern Sudanian savanna of Togo (West Africa)

Land use effects on termite assemblages in Kenya

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