The Importance of Termites to the CH4 Balance of a Tropical Savanna Woodland of Northern Australia

H Jamali; SJ Livesley; SP Grover; TZ Dawes; LB Hutley; GD Cook; SK Arndt

Journal article

The Importance of Termites to the CH4 Balance of a Tropical Savanna Woodland of Northern Australia

H Jamali, SJ Livesley, SP Grover, TZ Dawes, LB Hutley, GD Cook, SK Arndt

Ecosystems | Published : 2011

DOI: 10.1007/s10021-011-9439-5

Abstract

Termites produce methane (CH4) as a by-product of microbial metabolism of food in their hindguts, and are one of the most uncertain components of the regional and global CH4 exchange estimates. This study was conducted at Howard Springs near Darwin, and presents the first estimate of CH4 emissions from termites based on replicated in situ seasonal flux measurements in Australian savannas. Using measured fluxes of CH4 between termite mounds and the atmosphere, and between soil and the atmosphere across seasons we determined net CH4 flux within a tropical savanna woodland of northern Australia. By accounting for both mound-building and subterranean termite colony types, and estimating the cont..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Stephen Livesley Author

Stefan Arndt Author

Related Projects (1)

INTEGRATIVE ASSESSMENT OF DISTURBANCE AND LAND-USE CHANGE ON THE TOTAL GREENHOUSE GAS BALANCE AND NUTRIENT CYCLING IN SAVANNA ECOSYSTEMS

Climate change and variability is expected to have an impact on the NT environment and economy. This project will enable NT specific calibra..

Grants

Awarded by Australian Research Council

Funding Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Australian Research Council, Linkage project grant LP0774812. Jamali was supported by an AusAID postgraduate scholarship. We are thankful to Gus Wanganeen from CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences, Darwin for identifying the termite species. We are thankful to Dr Alan Anderson from CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences, Darwin and Dr Brett Murphy from the University of Tasmania for reviewing an earlier draft of this manuscript. In Charles Darwin National Park research was carried out through permit number 29227 of the Northern Territory Government, Australia.