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.白蚁是热带生态系统中的主要分解者，在诸多土壤生态过程中扮演关键角色。此前在亚洲及新热带区（Neotropics）开展的相关研究显示，生境改造会对白蚁类群产生显著影响，但针对非洲森林、尤其是西非森林的白蚁群落研究数据仍较为匮乏。本研究以科特迪瓦中部某农业区域为研究样地，探究了刀耕火种农业对白蚁类群的短期影响。我们对四类生境中的白蚁多样性与相对丰度进行了调查：次生林、经清理的林地、经焚烧的林地以及农田。次生林的物种丰富度显著高于其余三类生境，但所有生境的白蚁类群组成结构并无显著差异。培菌白蚁（fungus-growing termites）是所有生境中丰度最高的取食类群。食土类白蚁（soil-feeders）在次生林中丰度最高，在经清理和焚烧的林地中丰度处于中等水平，在农田中则几乎绝迹。食木白蚁类群（wood-feeding species）对焚烧处理表现出明确的响应：火灾后其种群丰度显著下降。研究结果表明，刀耕火种农业似乎并未严重削弱白蚁类群的多样性。这一现象可能源于两类原因：一是生态适应性广泛的培菌白蚁占据类群优势，二是林地清理与焚烧之间的间隔时间相对较长。不过，林地清理会对食土类白蚁产生负面影响，其中尖白蚁亚科（Apicotermitinae）受冠层消失的影响最为显著。