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 showe...白蚁是热带区域的核心分解者，在诸多土壤相关生态过程中发挥关键作用。此前在亚洲及新热带区开展的研究表明，生境改造会显著影响白蚁群落，但针对非洲森林、尤其是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（Côte d'Ivoire）中部某农业区域，测定了刀耕火种农业对白蚁群落的短期影响。我们对四类生境——次生林、清理林、火烧林与农田中的白蚁多样性与相对多度进行了调查。结果显示，次生林的物种丰富度高于其余三类生境，但所有生境的白蚁群落结构均较为相似。培菌白蚁（fungus-growing termites）是所有生境中丰度最高的取食类群；食土白蚁类群在次生林中丰度最高，在清理林与火烧林中丰度处于中等水平，在农田中则几乎完全缺失。食木白蚁类群则……