Balance of nature illustrated: termite mounds (Introduction)

by David Turell , Tuesday, March 03, 2015, 14:36 (3553 days ago) @ dhw

Protect the soil and much more:-http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/03/science/termites-are-guardians-of-the-soil.html?emc=edit_th_20150303&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=60788861&_r=0-"By poking holes, or macropores, as they dig through the ground, termites allow rain to soak deep into the soil rather than running off or evaporating. Termites artfully mix inorganic particles of sand, stone and clay with organic bits of leaf litter, discarded exoskeletons and the occasional squirrel tail, a blending that helps the soil retain nutrients and resist erosion.-"The stickiness of a termite's feces and other bodily excretions lend structure and coherence to the soil, which also prevents erosion. Bacteria in the termite's gut are avid nitrogen fixaters, able to extract the vital element from the air and convert it into a usable sort of fertilizer, benefiting the termite host and the vast underground economy.-"'Over all, termites are extremely good for the health of the soil” on which everything else depends, Dr. Bignell said.-"And termites have been enormously successful. Taxonomically, they're considered “a superior kind of cockroach,” as Dr. Bignell puts it, but termites account for a far greater portion of the world's insect biomass than do all the other cockroaches combined. In the tropics, where social insects rule, the termites outweigh the ants hundredfold.-"With the help of symbiotic bacteria and protozoa packed into the termitic paunch at what might be the highest microbial densities in nature, termites thrive by eating what others can't or won't: wood, dung, lichen, even dirt."