The significance of termites as decomposers in contrasting grassland communities of semi-arid eastern Australia

Do soil organisms affect aboveground litter decomposition in the semiarid Patagonian steppe, Argentina?

“…The effects of the shadecloth and shrub canopies in reducing incident solar radiation at the soil surface appears to have had a much larger effect than our soil faunal exclusion treatments, supporting the role of photodegradation as a major control on decomposition in this site (Austin and Vivanco 2006;Austin 2011). These results echo other studies in aridlands suggesting abiotic factors such as solar radiation, wind and freeze-thaw cycles are important controls degrading, fragmenting and redistributing aboveground litter (Moorhead and Reynolds 1989;Gallo et al 2006;Throop and Archer 2007;Noble et al 2009;Uselman et al 2011) rather than a direct biotic control on rates of mass loss. Nevertheless, this experiment did not allow for the evaluation of indirect effects of photodegradation on litter quality, which could potentially interact with soil organisms affecting carbon turnover and litter decay (Gallo et al 2009;Austin and Ballaré 2010).…”

“…The disproportionate role of some macrofauna on litter decomposition may be a particular trait of some warm aridlands, particularly where termite or ant guilds are an abundant component of the soil fauna. In fact, studies in North American and African deserts attribute faster litter decomposition than that predicted by climate indices specifically to termite activity (Santos and Whitford 1981;Schuurman 2005); however, these studies were conducted in warm desert ecosystems where termites are abundant (but see Noble et al 2009). In contrast, in cold deserts, particularly in the southern hemisphere where temperature could constrain biological activity (Wood 1988) and biogoeographic barriers could limit the distribution of termite species, their role as ecosystem engineers may not be prominent, which is consistent with the results of this study.…”

Microsite and grazing intensity drive infiltration in a semiarid woodland

“…Bhark & Small, 2003;Eldridge, Beecham, & Grace, 2015;Eldridge, Wang, & Ruiz-Colmenero, 2015;Gómez et al, 2015;Madsen, Chandler, & Belnap, 2008), we demonstrated substantially greater sorptivity and infiltration under the canopies of long-lived vegetation patches such as shrubs, trees, and perennial grasses than in the interspaces. These favourable abiotic conditions beneath woody canopies support greater densities of termites (Noble, Mueller, Whitford, & Pfitzner, 2009) and soil invertebrates (Chilcott, Reid, & King, 1997) that construct biopores, leading to positive feedbacks on soil physical and chemical properties, increasing infiltration (Eldridge & Freudenberger, 2005;Hu, Li, Li, & Liu, 2015;Pueyo, Moret-Fernandez, Saiz, Bueno, & Alados, 2013;Tobella et al, 2014). The magnitude of the macroporosity index for soil beneath grasses, shrubs, and trees (range 10-24) suggests that observed differences in hydrology among these microsites were largely due to the presence of macropores; large biologically produced pores that are the principal channels for conducting water.…”

Contribution of soil fauna to litter decomposition in Songnen sandy lands in northeastern China

“…Most studies have been conducted in forests (Joo et al, 2006;Wang et al, 2009;Yang and Chen, 2009;Yin et al, 2002) and relatively few studies have examined grasslands, arid or semi-arid regions. Studies on the effects of soil fauna on litter decomposition in these regions have mainly focused on the effects of some groups (e.g., nematodes and termites) (Cole et al, 2006;Elkins and Whitford, 1982;Kampichler and Bruckner, 2009;Noble et al, 2009;Petersen and Luxton, 1982), community composition and biodiversity (Cragg and Bardgett, 2001). Research on the contributions of soil fauna to litter decomposition in sandy land has not been fully explored.…”