Data from: Short-term changes in the structure of termite assemblages associated with slash-and-burn agriculture in Côte d’Ivoire

Termites are major decomposers in tropical regions and play critical roles in many soil-related processes. Studies conducted in Asia and the Neotropics suggest that habitat modification can strongly affect termite assemblages, but data on termite communities from forests in Africa, especially West Africa, are scarce. Here, we measured the short-term impact of slash-and-burn agriculture on termite assemblages in an agricultural region of central Côte d’Ivoire. We assessed termite diversity and relative abundance in four habitat types: secondary forest, cleared forest, burned forest, and crop fields. The secondary forest had higher species richness compared with the other habitats, but all habitat types had similar assemblage structures. Fungus-growing termites were the most abundant feeding group in all habitats. Soil-feeders were most abundant in secondary forest, intermediately abundant in cleared and burned forests, and almost entirely absent in crop fields. Wood-feeding species showed clear responses to burning; their abundances decreased after fire. We conclude that slash-and-burn agriculture does not appear to severely erode the diversity of termite assemblages. This could be due to the dominance of ecologically versatile fungus-growers or to the relatively long time between clearing and burning. However, forest clearing negatively affects soil-feeders, with the Apicotermitinae most affected by canopy loss.

白蚁是热带地区的核心分解者，在诸多土壤相关生态过程中发挥关键作用。此前在亚洲与新热带界开展的研究表明，生境改造会显著影响白蚁类群，但来自非洲（尤其西非）森林的白蚁群落数据仍较为匮乏。本研究针对科特迪瓦中部某农业区域，探究了刀耕火种农业对白蚁类群的短期影响。我们对4类生境中的白蚁多样性与相对丰度进行了评估，分别为次生林、清理后林地、焚烧后林地与农田。结果显示，次生林的物种丰富度高于其余三类生境，但所有生境的白蚁类群结构均无显著差异。培菌白蚁是所有生境中丰度最高的取食类群；食土类白蚁在次生林中丰度最高，在清理后与焚烧后林地中丰度中等，在农田中则几乎完全缺失；食木类白蚁对火烧处理表现出明确响应，火烧后其丰度显著下降。本研究结论认为，刀耕火种农业并未显著削弱白蚁类群的多样性，这一结果可能源于两方面原因：一是生态适应性广泛的培菌白蚁占据优势地位，二是林地清理与焚烧之间的间隔周期相对较长。不过，林地清理会对食土类白蚁产生负面影响，其中拱白蚁亚科（Apicotermitinae）受冠层丧失的影响最为显著。