Short‐term changes in the structure of termite assemblages associated with slash‐and‐burn agriculture in Côte d'Ivoire

Abstract

Termites are major decomposers in tropical regions and play critical roles in many soil‐related processes. Studies conducted in Asia and the Neotropics suggest that habitat modification can strongly affect termite assemblages, but data on termite communities from forests in Africa, especially West Africa, are scarce. Here, we measured the short‐term impact of slash‐and‐burn agriculture on termite assemblages in an agricultural region of central Côte d'Ivoire. We assessed termite diversity and relative abundance in four habitat types: secondary forest, cleared forest, burned forest, and crop fields. The secondary forest had higher species richness compared with the other habitats, but all habitat types had similar assemblage structures. Fungus‐growing termites were the most abundant feeding group in all habitats. Soil feeders were most abundant in secondary forest, intermediately abundant in cleared and burned forests, and almost entirely absent in crop fields. Wood‐feeding species showed clear responses to burning; their abundances decreased after fire. We conclude that slash‐and‐burn agriculture does not appear to severely erode the diversity of termite assemblages. This could be due to the dominance of ecologically versatile fungus growers or to the relatively long time between clearing and burning. However, forest clearing negatively affects soil feeders, with the Apicotermitinae most affected by canopy loss.

Record of New Termite (Blattodea, Termitidae) Species in Togo West Africa

“…Termites species and generic richness (particularly in the central and west part of the continent) is very important [1][2][3]. Most termite species are found in tropical forest, undisturbed savanna, and protected parks [4][5][6][7]. Although several studies have been conducted (and are still ongoing) on African termites, the diversity and the taxonomy of these termites remain poorly documented.…”

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

“…Several authors (Konaté et al 2003;Dosso et al 2010Dosso et al , 2012Dosso et al , 2013Dosso et al , 2017 have conducted studies on the termite in relation to natural or processed habitats in West Africa. Moreover, it appeared that termite species richness decreases with the increase of land use (essentially for farming and agro-systems establishment).…”

Estoques de carbono e nitrogênio e atributos edáficos em cronossequência agricultura-florestas secundárias no Pará

“…Tabela 8 -Índices ecológicos da macrofauna do solo nas camadas de 0-10, 10-20, 20-40 e 0-40 cm áreas de regeneração natural de floresta amazônica com idade de dois anos (RN02), cinco anos (RN05), dez anos (RN10) e vinte anos (RN20) e uma área de agricultura (AGRI) logo após a queima de parte da floresta secundária de vinte anos Área Abundância Riqueza Diversidade Equabilidade ----------------------m 2 --------------------- MALMSTRÖM et al, 2009). Quando comparadas com áreas onde ocorreram mudanças de cobertura vegetal, as áreas queimadas tem menos impactos na riqueza de espécies de formigas (VASCONCELOS et al, 2008) e cupins (DOSSO et al, 2017). Isso ocorre porque as formigas são mais generalistas em seu nicho alimentar e por isso conseguem sobreviver mesmo em condições pouco favoráveis de alimentação (TUMA; EGGLETON; FAYLE, 2020).…”