THE popular image of termites as timber-munching pests or builders of
towering nest mounds is badly in need of a makeover.
In tropical forests, the vast majority of termites conform to neither
stereotype, say researchers at the Natural History Museum in London. Instead,
most termites eat rotting vegetation in the soil and nest underground. They may
be as important to the survival of tropical forests as earthworms are to the
health of your garden.
Over the past five years, Paul Eggleton and his colleagues have been
measuring the biomass and biodiversity of organisms in soils in Cameroon, west
Africa. Soil-dwelling termites, many from species new to science, accounted for
more biomass than any other animal group. The total mass of the world鈥檚 termites
may be three times that of its human population, Eggleton told the BA. 鈥淯ntil
now nobody was aware of the enormous weight of termites underground, since they
are less obvious than their mound-building cousins,鈥� says Richard Davies, a
member of the team.
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These subterranean species dig intricate networks of tunnels, shifting the
soil and improving its aeration. By consuming rotting vegetation, they help to
recycle nutrients taken from the soil by trees and other plants. 鈥淭ermites can
quite accurately be described as the earthworms of tropical soils,鈥� says
Eggleton.
Davies hopes the new findings will rid termites of their reputation as pests.
鈥淥nly a few species feed on wood,鈥� he says.