Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Lind, Brianna

Titel

A Multiscale Analysis of Termite Mounds in Ecosystems

Ort / Verlag

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses

Erscheinungsjahr

2022

Quelle

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Termites are prominent ecosystem engineers in the global tropics where they build some of the largest and architecturally most complex non-human-made structures in the world. Although termite colonies construct mounds to provide shelter from harsh conditions, mounds as physical structures regularly outlast their original architects and, have long-term, and far-reaching ‘unintended’ consequences. This dissertation aims to advance our collective understanding of termite mounds in Afro-tropical savanna ecosystems by 1) mapping them across large geographic scales, 2) assessing their impacts on hydrological processes, 3) quantifying their effects on vegetation productivity, and 4) understanding the mechanisms that control their vegetation cover. Here we use a combination of remote sensing techniques, moderate and very high resolution remote sensing imagery, and field work, to 1) map over 72 million termite mounds over 20 million hectares in West Africa, 2) show that bare mounds have substantial potential to redistribute water laterally, 3) demonstrate that termite mounds increase herbaceous and decrease woody productivity at ecosystem scales, and 4) develop a mechanistic framework to explore the factors controlling vegetation cover on termite mounds. Our research reveals that through mound-mediated water redistribution, termite mounds can have substantial impacts on vegetation productivity, with potential implications for tree-grass competition, savanna maintenance, and cascading effects on location, frequency, and connectivity of fire and herbivory in landscapes.