par Roisin, Yves 
;Bourguignon, Thomas ;Leponce, Maurice
Editeur scientifique Lowman, M.;Devy, S.;Ganesh, T.
Référence Treetops at Risk, Challenges of Global Canopy Ecology and Conservation, Springer, New York, page (415-421)
Publication Publié, 2013
;Bourguignon, Thomas ;Leponce, Maurice Editeur scientifique Lowman, M.;Devy, S.;Ganesh, T.
Référence Treetops at Risk, Challenges of Global Canopy Ecology and Conservation, Springer, New York, page (415-421)
Publication Publié, 2013
Partie d'ouvrage collectif
| Résumé : | Termites are abundant decomposers at the ground level in tropical rainforests, but their presence and action in the canopy are easily overlooked. In a Panamanian rainforest, 7 termite species out of 45 were exclusively or preferentially found in the canopy. In the canopy, species with small- or medium-sized colonies are entirely accommodated within dead branches on which they feed. By contrast, large-colonyTermitidae (e.g., Nasutitermes spp.) build arboreal carton nests and foraging galleries to reach scattered sources of dead wood. Limitations in the amount of wood available favor the acquisition of nitrogen by atmospheric N2 fi xation in small-colony canopy dwellers. By contrast, large-colony central place foragers may afford to extract N from wood, which they consume in large quantities. Termites may exert a substantial infl uence on the C and N balance of the forest before dead wood reaches the forest fl oor, but the magnitude of their action remains to be investigated. |
