Sustainable use of termite activity in agro-ecosystems with reference to earthworms. A review

Autor: Ekta Chaudhary, Pascal Jouquet, Amritha Raja Vinoda Kumar
Přispěvatelé: Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Institut d'écologie et des sciences de l'environnement de Paris (iEES Paris ), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Université Paris-Est Créteil Val-de-Marne - Paris 12 (UPEC UP12)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Indian Institute of Science [Bangalore] (IISc Bangalore), University of Agricultural Sciences [Bangalore, India], Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Université Paris-Est Créteil Val-de-Marne - Paris 12 (UPEC UP12)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Paris (UP)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2018
Předmět:
Zdroj: Agronomy for Sustainable Development
Agronomy for Sustainable Development, Springer Verlag/EDP Sciences/INRA, 2018, 38 (1), pp.3. ⟨10.1007/s13593-017-0483-1⟩
Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 2018, 38 (1), pp.3. ⟨10.1007/s13593-017-0483-1⟩
ISSN: 1774-0746
1773-0155
DOI: 10.1007/s13593-017-0483-1⟩
Popis: International audience; AbstractSustainable agriculture and agro-ecology justify the need to study and understand the role played by ecological processes, and soil biodiversity in particular, in agro-ecosystem functioning. A large number of studies have focused on earthworms in temperate and humid tropical ecosystems and have demonstrated their importance for improving soil biological, physical, and chemical properties in agro-ecosystems. Their “success” is so essential that earthworms are widely considered key species and relevant indicators of soil health in temperate ecosystems. In arid and sub-arid ecosystems, the role of “soil engineer” is usually attributed to termites, and especially fungus-growing termites in Africa and Asia. However, despite this recognition, significant effort is spent eradicating them in plantations because of their pest status. In this review, we discuss the status of termites (“pests” vs. “soil engineers”) and question whether termites play similar roles to earthworms in arid- and sub-arid agroecosystems, with a focus on their influence on nutrient cycling and water dynamics. We argue that the dream of controlling natural interactions and ridding plantations of termites remains a costly legacy of the green revolution. We review the agricultural practices that have been used to reduce termite damage in plantations by restoring refuges to predators or by reorienting termite foraging activity towards organic amendments. Then, we show that the stimulation of termite activity can be used to improve key ecological functions in agro-ecosystems, such as increasing water availability to plants or producing fertility hot-spots. Finally, we suggest that more research on how termites can be used for improving ecosystem services, as is actually done with earthworms in temperate and humid tropical countries, could lead to a paradigm shift in our understanding of the impact of termites in tropical agro-ecosytems.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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